PTE Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Thermal Comfort Research Team

Name of the research team:

Thermal Comfort Research Team

Name of the institute hosting the research team:

Institute of Smart Technology and Engineering

Head of the research team and their academic qualification

Name	Academic Qualification	Status	Department
Dr. László Fülöp	PhD	prof. emeritus	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering

Members of the research team:

Name	Academic Qualification	Status	Department
Dr. Mária Eördöghné Miklós	PhD	associate professor	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
Dr. Árpád Nyers	PhD	associate professor	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
Balázs Cakó		assistant lecturer	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
Mihály Baumann		assistant professor	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
László Lenkovics		assistant lecturer	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
László Budulski		technical supporting staff	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
András Hirmann		technical supporting staff	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
Gábor Loch		technical supporting staff	Department of Building Services and Building Engineering
András Ózdi		student	Building Services specialization

Scope of the research team

For people in enclosed spaces, comfort is mainly influenced by factors such as temperature, humidity, air movement, air quality, noise, and lighting. The effects of the first three factors fall under the umbrella concept of thermal comfort.
Thermal comfort is mainly determined by the following six parameters:
- air temperature, its spatial and temporal distribution and variation,
- the mean radiant temperature of the surrounding surfaces,
- the relative humidity of the air and the partial pressure of water vapor in the air,
- air velocity,
- heat production, heat dissipation and thermoregulation of the human body,
- the thermal insulation of clothing, its effect on evaporation.
Well-being, including thermal well-being, cannot be expressed as an average of the components, because even a single parameter that is not ideal can cause discomfort. In a given space, many different superposition influences are acting simultaneously. To express these, different thermal comfort metrics have been developed, which are empirical relationships or diagrams based on different parameters that can be measurable separately. The other method is to develop combined measuring instruments that are exposed to several effects simultaneously. The most advanced of these is the thermal comfort manikin, which is available to the research team.
The main focus of the research team is the combined study of ambient surface temperature and air temperature, air velocity and respiration in a measuring chamber and in real rooms using a manikin dressed in a variety of clothing.

Research objectives of the research team

One of the important aims of constructing buildings is to protect us from the elements and provide good comfort. In Hungary, thermal comfort design is not explicitly required by regulations, except for monitoring, however, since EU accession, community standards have come into force. International standards are not fully harmonized and there are differences between various methods. The main objective of the research team is to provide measurement data and empirical correlations for the aims of thermal comfort design. One set of relationships is the thermal sensation in spaces with surfaces of different sizes and temperatures. A particularly important factor is the investigation of different heating modes (radiators, underfloor heating, wall heating, ceiling heating, air heating), in combination of windows and doors of varying quality. The other group is the study of air flow. Within this team, the least researched area is the effect of close-range (personal) ventilation systems, which can be done by using the dummy's breath simulation function. Personal ventilation systems provide the opportunity in ventilation technology where an individual can adjust the airflow characteristics according to their preference. Personal ventilation systems can also have an impact on the spread of infection, both positively and negatively. The objectives also include investigating the interaction between comfort level and energy consumption. A long-term objective is to provide information and data for the development of national thermal comfort standards.

Education, Research, and Innovation graph

2020 - 2023 MTMT data

Dr. László Fülöp

Dr. Mária Eördöghné Miklós

Dr. Árpád Nyers

Balázs Cakó

Mihály Baumann

László Lenkovics

László Budulski

Gábor Loch