Office Spaces

Making an environment in an office space where everyone is comfortable is a tough task.  Air temperature, air speed, surface temperatures, humidity and the differences in the clothing people wear to work affect comfort.  There is no perfect solution, however, eliminating fluctuations in the mechanical factors is a good start.  

Radiant systems allow you to maintain consistent surface temperatures, downsize/optimize ventilation components to reduce drafts and lower air temperature set points.  

The Infosys Software Development Block 1 project is an interesting case study of radiant cooling and a traditional VAV, forced-air system.  They have both systems in different wings of the same building.  Beyond having a side-by-side energy consumption comparison of two technologies, the workers can experience working in both wings.  They even went as far as conducting occupant thermal comfort satisfaction surveys.  

ASHRAE Journal article