THERMAL ENVIRONMENT IN OFFICE ROOM SERVED BY

TASK/AMBIENT AIR-CONDITIONING SYSTEM

WITH NATURAL VENTILATION

T. Ushio1†, S. Horikawa1, K. Sagara2, T. Yamanaka2, H. Kotani2,

N. Mishima3, and T. Yamashita4
1
Nikken Sekkei Ltd., Japan
2
Department of Architectural Engineering, Osaka University, Japan
3
The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., Japan
4
Sanki Engineering Co., Ltd., Japan

ABSTRACT
A task/ambient air-conditioning system with natural ventilation was installed in a high-rise office building
in Osaka, Japan. This paper will report the results of the field measurements of indoor thermal
environment and natural ventilation opening performances. From the thermal environmental aspect,
the office is properly divided into working “task” zones and a general “ambient” zone so as to ensure
both occupants’ comfort and energy savings. Task air-conditioning is for satisfying individual thermal
preferences by using floor outlets. Ambient air-conditioning for the ambient environment is moderately
controlled with ceiling outlets. Natural ventilation substitutes for ambient air-conditioning during good
weather conditions. Natural ventilation openings are so shaped to diffuse the air along the ceiling and
send it as deep into the room as possible. The air flow from task floor outlets makes small temperature
differences between the upper space and the lower space in the task zones and gives occupants
thermal comfort. Sufficient ventilation can be ensured by this type of natural ventilation openings, and
the differences in the room temperature are small among various places due to air flow along the
ceiling surface. Heat consumption by ambient air conditioning was reduced by the natural ventilation by
1/3 for the measurement period.

KEYWORDS
task/ambient air-conditioning, natural ventilation, thermal environment, thermal comfort

Introduction
The task/ambient air conditioning system intensively controls thermal
environment of the task area in the office environment and mitigates that
of the ambient area to ensure both occupants’ comfort and energy
savings. Natural ventilation can be utilized as ambient air conditioning for
a long time in a cycle of a year.
In an office room introducing the task ambient air conditioning system
with natural ventilation, we measured the indoor environment in a case
where natural ventilation was used alternatively for air conditioning in the
ambient area (task air conditioning with natural ventilation), a case where
the air conditioner was used (task/ambient air conditioning) and a case
where only the ambient air conditioner was used (ambient air
conditioning). We will report the field measurement results and the natural ventilation
Photograph 1: opening
performances. The high-rise office building

†
Corresponding Author: Tel: +81-6-6203-2361, Fax: +81-6-6203-4278
E-mail adress: ushiot@nikken.co.jp

Main Application
Total floor space
Typical floor space
Number of floors, Height
Location
Completion
A/C system on typical floor
Table 1: Outline of the building
Office, district cooling and heating facility
Approx.106,000 m2
2 2
Approx. 2,000 m （effective area: Approx.1,400 m ）
5 basements and 41 floors above grade, 195m
Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka City, Japan
December, 2004
Task/ambient air-conditioning system using natural ventilation

Outline of natural ventilation

Figure 1 shows the typical floor plan.
Natural ventilation was performed on the 14th
to 17th and 27th to 35th floors (13 floors in
total). For natural ventilation, Twenty-six
openings of 0.4 m2 were provided on each
floor. The total opening space of 10.4 m2 (=
0.4 m2 x 26) corresponded to approximately
1/135 of the floor space that was rather large
in a high-rise building. Figure 2 shows the
concept of natural ventilation and
task/ambient air conditioning.
The following devices were provided about
natural ventilation openings to prevent
invasion of gust on upper floors, introduce the
wind deeply into the room and save energy
consumption.
1) Traps were installed in eaves to prevent
Fig.1 Typical floor plan
rainwater and mitigate the strong wind.
2) The natural ventilation outlet had such a
shape as to introduce the wind along the
ceiling surface.
3) Natural ventilation openings were
automatically controlled according to the
indoor and outdoor conditions.
Table 2 shows the opening condition of
natural ventilation openings. The natural
ventilation was automatically controlled to
reduce as much energy consumption as
possible.
Photograph 2 shows the external view and
internal view around natural ventilation
openings. Fig. 2 Concept of task/ambient air-conditioning with
natural ventilation
Table 2: Opening condition of natural
ventilation openings
1) Indoor-outdoor pressure difference :
50 Pa or less when open
150 Pa or less when closed
2) Outside air temperature: 18ºC or more
3) Outside air humidity: 90% or less
4) Outside air enthalpy:
Less than indoor enthalpy
5) Room temperature:
Preset temperature
between -2 ºC and +1 ºC -> Partly open
Preset temperature
between +1ºC and +3 ºC -> Fully open
Photograph 2: External and internal view of natural
ventilation openings
Outline of task/ambient air-conditioning
The working area was regarded as the task area, a general
area was regarded as the ambient area, and each area was
controlled separately.
Task air conditioning is done by floor supply system. Figure 3
shows task floor outlet. Office workers can adjust the thermal
environment by adjusting the task floor outlets. Office workers
can easily change the air movement direction, air flow status
(directional or diffusive) and air volume (high, low or OFF, 110
m3/h/outlet when high) of the task floor outlet.
Ambient air conditioning is done by ceiling supply system.
Mitigating ambient thermal environment (28ºC during cooling)
could reduce energy consumption.
Table 3 shows the outline of task/ambient air-conditioning.

Fig. 3: Task floor outlet

Table 3: Specifications of task ambient air conditioning
Air conditioning Task Ambient
Supply air volume 17.0 m3/h/m2 6.9 m3/h/m2
Constant supply air temperature and VAV control to constant indoor
Control
constant air static pressure control temperature

Outline of field measurements

Field measurements were conducted on 30th floor (Measurement points: Fig. 1). On the Detailed
measurement area (Fig.1, 16), we measured room temperature at 144 points, air movement velocity at
36 points, globe temperature and humidity at 4 points. Airflow velocity was measured at all natural
ventilation openings. Table 4 shows the outline of field measurements. One hundred ten black lights (60
W) simulating the human bodies were installed at each desk. Personal computers were set in the
standby status. The illumination was lit.
Table 4: Field measurement conditions
Task A/C with natural Task ambient Pollen and noise
Case Ambient A/C
ventilation A/C measurement
’05 Spring/Autumn:
Measurement ’05 Summer: ’06 Winter: ’06 Spring:
Apr.23 to May 1
period Jul.16 to Jul. 22 Jan.19 to Jan.27 Apr.21to May 26
Oct.23 to Nov. 4
Task A/C ON ON OFF OFF
Task floor outlet Diffusive Diffusive*1 - -
Holiday: OFF
Ambient A/C ON ON ON
Weekday: ON
Natural ventilation Holiday Fully open
Closed Closed Controlled
openings Weekday: Controlled
*1: Task air flows were changed in only detailed measurement area.

Field measurement results during task air-conditioning with natural ventilation

Indoor airflow and temperature distribution
The shape of the natural ventilation outlet was so
designed as to introduce the wind deeply into the
room. Figure 4 shows typical examples of constant
velocity distribution at the air outlet in the
environmental laboratory. We adopted the shape C
that allowed airflow of 0.5 m/s to reach a position of
approximately 7 m at the height of 1.1 m.
Figure 5 shows the temperature distribution in the
east-west direction created from the field
measurement results of the west wind in autumn.
The figure shows that the outside air supplied from Fig. 4: Constant velocity distribution in the
the west to the office room is introduced and laboratory (Supply velocity: 2 m/s, supply
diffused along the ceiling deeply into the room until temperature difference: 6ºC)
approximately 15 m.
Figure 6 shows visualized outside air flowing
from the natural ventilation openings on the north
side. The figure shows that the outside air is
carried into the interior along the ceiling.
Figure 7 shows correlation between the wind
velocity by the Osaka District Meteorological
Observatory and air change rate of indoor room
by ventilation. Three to six air change rate by
ventilation is assured when the wind velocity is 2
m/s and six to nine ACH is assured when 4 m/s.
While the ventilation panel is partly open, air
change rate of ventilation is approximately 70% of
the case where the ventilation panel is fully open.
When the north wind is blowing, the ventilation
Fig. 5: Temperature distribution at east-west
air volume is large against the wind velocity.
section (autumn)

Fig. 6: Visualized airflow of north wind (autumn) Fig. 7: External wind velocity and air change
(External wind velocity: 2 m/s, airflow velocity rate by natural ventilation
at natural ventilation opening: 1 m/s)

Natural ventilation achievements and

load reduction quantity
Figure 8 shows the natural ventilation
achievements. Approximately 50% of
natural ventilation openings were opened.
The temperature difference between the
east and the west (①, ② and ④ in Fig. 1)
was 0.2ºC on an average and 1.6ºC at a
maximum, and there was not much
difference between the windward and the
leeward.
Natural ventilation was not made on the
15th floor so that the natural ventilation
performance could be compared. When
the difference in heat quantity between the
15th floor and the 30th floor is regarded as
heat quantity removed by natural ventilation
because the internal load and air
conditioning time are almost equivalent
between the two floors, the heat quantity
consumption was reduced by 36% mainly
around the ambient air conditioner with
natural ventilation during this period.
Figure 9 shows the natural ventilation Fig. 8: Natural ventilation performance
opening open time and the cooling load (October 24 to October 30, 2007)
reduction quantity on an average between
the 15th and 30th floors for the year.
Natural ventilation was used in April to
June and September to November, and
used for a long time in May and October.
The annual total use time was 918 hours.
The annual cooling load reduction quantity
achieved by natural ventilation was 67,421
MJ/floor that occupied 13.3% of air
conditioning on the typical floor.

Fig. 9: Natural ventilation opening open status and

Indoor and outdoor pollen quantity heat extraction by natural ventilation
Figure 10 shows the average outside air
temperature from 9:00 to 18:00 by the
Osaka District Meteorological Observatory
and pollen quantity (mainly from Japanese
cedar). The pollen quantity decreases
drastically from May. When the minimum
outside air temperature for natural
ventilation is set to 18ºC, it is thought that
pollen gives considerable effect only in the
latter half of April because natural
ventilation openings are opened
automatically later April.
Fig. 10: Daily average outdoor air temperature and
We measured the indoor pollen quantity
pollen quantity
at a point of 0.75m above the floor, 3.6 m
distant from the west window surface on
the 30th floor (approximately 133 m in
ground height) usually and at a point inside
the natural ventilation opening on the
same floor for last one week in the
measurement period, and the outdoor
pollen quantity on the roof (approximately
190 m in ground height) using a light
scattering type pollen sensor.
Figure 11 shows the pollen quantity on
the 30th floor and the rooftop. Figure 12
shows the average pollen quantity on
holidays and weekdays. The pollen
quantity was larger on the 30th floor than Fig. 11: Pollen quantity in the 30th floor and outdoor
the roof on weekdays when there were
many workers, but the measurement result
was reverse on holidays when there were
a few workers. The difference in pollen
quantity from the roof was smaller in the
pollen sensor inside the natural ventilation
opening than inside the room.
It is postulated from the above results
that the pollen quantity carried by people is
larger than the pollen quantity coming in
through natural ventilation openings.
This item should be examined also in the
future because the pollen sensor precision Fig. 12: Average Pollen quantity on holidays and
may give some effect. weekdays
There have been no claims about pollen
accompanied by opening of natural
ventilation openings in the measured
building.
Indoor noise
Figure 13 shows changes in indoor noise
when natural ventilation openings were open
and closed on the 15th and 30th floors.
Because the indoor-side chamber of
natural ventilation openings had
sound-absorption lining, noise was achieved
to realize approximately 41 dB (A) (20 dB (A)
decay) when natural ventilation openings
were open, and approximately 36 dB (A) (25
dB (A) decay) when natural ventilation
openings were closed while the outdoor Fig. 13: Noise around natural ventilation opening
noise was 58 to 63 dB (A). It is confirmed
by this result that noise entering from the
outside does spoil working conditions.

Field measurement result during task/ambient air-conditioning

Figure 14 shows the task/ambient supply air
temperature and indoor temperature during
task/ambient air-conditioning. The
temperature was lower in the interior than at
the perimeter, the planar temperature
difference was 2 to 3ºC, and the indoor
temperature was kept in a range from 25 to
28ºC.
Figure 15 shows visualized airflow blown
out of the task floor outlet in the task area.
This figure clearly shows airflow changes Fig. 14: Task/ambient supply air temperature and
given by changeover between “directional” indoor temperature in summer
and “diffusive” of the task floor outlet.
Figures 16 and 17 show temperature and
wind velocity distributions around an occupant
in the detailed measurement area created from
field measurement result.
When the task floor outlet was closed, the
temperature was 23.5ºC on the floor surface
and 24.5ºC at the height of +1.1 m above the
floor in the rear of an occupant.
When the task floor outlet was open and set to
“diffusive”, the low temperature area rose
upward and task thermal zones was formed
separately. When the task floor outlet was Fig. 15: Visualized airflow in field measurement in
set to “directional”, the low temperature area office room
was formed around the rear of an occupant
toward which the blown-out airflow went.
When the task floor outlet was closed, the temperature gradient between the floor and the ceiling
temperature was small. The temperature difference was 1.2C between them.
When the task floor outlet was open, cold wind was blowing to an occupant mainly at the height of
+0.6 m above the floor. The airflow velocity was 0.15 m/s in the “diffusive” mode, and 0.25 m in the
“directional” mode. It is expected that thermal environment can be changed by changing the mode.
Figure 18 shows PMV at the height of +1.1 m above the floor near the rear of an occupant. The
amount of clothing is set to 0.7 clo, and the quantity of metabolism is set to 1.2 Met.
The PMV substantially changed depending on the open status of the task floor outlet. PMV was
approximately 0.5 when the task floor outlet was closed, approximately 0.2 when the task floor outlet
was open and set to “diffusive”, and almost 0.0 when the task floor outlet was open and set to
“directional”.
It is necessary to evaluate local thermal environment, but it is thought that the thermal environment
can be changed when occupants manipulate their air outlets in the task area.
 Fig. 16: Temperature distribution around an occupant

Fig. 17: Vertical distributions of temperature Fig. 18: PMV around an occupant
and airflow around an occupant (detailed measurement area)

Field measurement result during ambient air conditioning

Task air conditioning is turned off and only ambient air conditioning is done in winter because there is
few requests for cooling.
Figure 19 shows the temperature at the indoor temperature measurement points ②, ③ and ⑤
shown in Fig. 1, ambient supply air average temperature, and return air average temperature on
January 19 when the outside air temperature was lowest during the measurement period.
There was much fluctuation in the supply air temperature while the air conditioning system was
operating, but the indoor temperature was approximately 21ºC at the perimeter and approximately
23ºC in the interior. It can be seen that the temperature in the office room was almost kept in a range
from 21 to 23ºC, and the thermal environment was stable while the air conditioning system was
operating.
Figure 10 shows the average temperature distribution in the detailed measurement area during the air
conditioning time period (from 9:00 to 18:00). It can be seen that the temperature was approximately
20ºC and rather low on the floor surface near the window, but 21 to 22ºC around an occupant. It can be
seen that temperature difference in the vertical direction was approximately 1ºC.
 Fig. 20: Temperature distribution
Fig. 19: Task/ambient supply air temperature and
around an occupant near a window
indoor temperature in winter (January 19, 2006)
(Average values from 9:00 to 18:00
on January 19, 2006)

Conclusion
We have measured the indoor environment made by task/ambient air-conditioning with natural
ventilation, and found the followings:

1. Natural ventilation openings developed at this time allowed external airflow to reach until
approximately 15 m when the external wind velocity is 1.7 m/s and the indoor air blow temperature is
20ºC, and offered the sound shielding performance of approximately 20 dB (A) in the open status.

2. Because secured natural ventilation openings corresponded to approximately 1/135 of the floor
space, the assured ventilation air volume corresponded to 3 to 6 ACH by ventilation when the external
wind velocity was 2 m/s, and 6 to 9 ACH by ventilation when the external wind velocity was 4 m/s.

3. The achievements in the year were as follows:

- Natural ventilation openings were open for 918 hours.
- The heat quantity of 67,412 MJ per floor was removed by natural ventilation.

4. It is expected that the thermal environment of each person can be adjusted by manipulating his/her
air outlets on the floor in the task area.

5. The temperature in the office room was controlled in a range from 21 to 23ºC during ambient air
conditioning in winter.

6. The difference between the maximum temperature and the minimum one was approximately 1ºC,
and the thermal environment was 21 to 22ºC around an occupant near the north window surface.

REFERENCES
Tomoaki Ushio et al. 2006. Task Ambient Air Conditioning System with Natural Ventilation for High Rise
Office Building(Part 1), Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006, Vol.4, pp.269-274

Hisashi Kotani et al. 2006. Task Ambient Air Conditioning System with Natural Ventilation for High Rise
Office Building(Part 2), Proceedings of Healthy Buildings 2006, Vol.5, pp.135-140

Eunsu Lim et al. 2007. Airflow Characteristics in Room with Hybrid Air-conditioning System of Task Air
Supply and Natural Ventilation, ROOMVENT 2007

Eunsu Lim et al. 2007. CFD Analysis of Airflow Characteristics in Office Room with Task
Air-conditioning and Natural Ventilation, IAQVEC 2007

The author has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. All in-text references underlined in blue are linked to publications on ResearchGate.