IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jcltec/v5y2023i3p55-1114d1244064.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Application of UAVs in the Evaluation of Thermal Comfort Levels in Buildings Equipped with Internal Greenhouses

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Inês Conceição

    (INESC-ID, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Eusébio Conceição

    (Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal)

  • António Grilo

    (INESC-ID, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Meysam Basiri

    (Institute for Systems and Robotics, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Hazim Awbi

    (School of Built Environment, University of Reading, Reading RG6 6AW, UK)

Abstract

A greenhouse is used to improve thermal comfort (TC) levels for its occupants in winter conditions using solar radiation, which involves low energy consumption. The aim of this research is the application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the evaluation of thermal comfort levels in buildings equipped with internal greenhouses. The new building design is developed numerically, and a building thermal simulator (BTS) numerical model calculates the indoor environmental variables. A new alternative and expeditious method to measure occupants’ comfort levels using UAV technology is applied using a UAV dynamic simulator (UAV DS). The evolution of the measured variables used for evaluating the predicted mean vote (PMV) is compared using the two numerical methodologies: BTS and UAV DS. In the second one, the mean radiant temperature (MRT) measuring methodology, the floor temperature, the lateral walls’ temperatures, the ceiling temperatures, and the air temperature are applied. In the method presented in this paper, a new building design is developed numerically, which includes a central greenhouse equipped with a semispherical dome, four auditoriums distributed around the central greenhouse, occupant distribution, and a ventilation methodology. The building geometry, the solar radiation on transparent surfaces, the TC, and the UAV mission methods are presented. The results show that, in general, the central greenhouse and the ventilation methodologies provide acceptable TC levels. The UAV monitoring mission, which includes two vehicles, provides good environmental variable replication, particularly when the environmental variables present greater variations. In the auditorium and greenhouse, the ceiling and lateral surface temperatures, respectively, can be used as an MRT approximation. The BTS numerical model is also important for developing buildings using renewable energy sources to improve the TC levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Inês Conceição & Eusébio Conceição & António Grilo & Meysam Basiri & Hazim Awbi, 2023. "The Application of UAVs in the Evaluation of Thermal Comfort Levels in Buildings Equipped with Internal Greenhouses," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-35, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:5:y:2023:i:3:p:55-1114:d:1244064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/3/55/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2571-8797/5/3/55/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xuexiu Zhao & Yanwen Luo & Jiang He, 2020. "Analysis of the Thermal Environment in Pedestrian Space Using 3D Thermal Imaging," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-15, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sergio Bemposta Rosende & Javier Sánchez-Soriano & Carlos Quiterio Gómez Muñoz & Javier Fernández Andrés, 2020. "Remote Management Architecture of UAV Fleets for Maintenance, Surveillance, and Security Tasks in Solar Power Plants," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-23, November.
    2. Haichao Zheng & Xue Zhong & Junru Yan & Lihua Zhao & Xintian Wang, 2020. "A Thermal Performance Detection Method for Building Envelope Based on 3D Model Generated by UAV Thermal Imagery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jcltec:v:5:y:2023:i:3:p:55-1114:d:1244064. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.