Long-term monitoring of the thermal environment in office buildings

Existing guidelines on monitoring of Indoor Climate Quality (ICQ) do not adequately address long term monitoring. A better understanding of the collection and analysis of monitored data, extending over a longtime period is required. This study aimed at addressing the aforementioned research gaps. The study took place in two office buildings, during two periods each: February & May (case I) and April & June (case II). Thermal nvironment data was obtained across several locations in the room. Results showed that measurement of temperature was most critical in the openplan office floors. Local heat sources had a significant influence on the measured temperatures. To collect representative data with the help of building management system (BMS) sensors, existence and fluctuation of local heat sources should be considered at the start of the ICQ assessment. Based on this information, the minimal distance between BMS sensor and workplace location can be determined. In the design process, the field study protocol can be used as a tool to predict the number of sensors and distance from occupants.