Sensory evaluation of heating and air conditioning systems.

States that existing standards and models are not sufficient to characterise the satisfaction and pleasantness for end-users which is provided by heating or air conditioning. The project described here was devised with the aim of using sensory evaluation techniques in the design of HVAC systems. A dual evaluation is used for sensory evaluation in the food cosmetics, phone and automotive industries, comprising of sensation measurements carried out be a small panel of trained expert assessors and preference studies performed by a large panel of representative consumers. The data from both studies is correlated and used to identify preferences in terms of sensation. In this project a list of descriptors of thermal sensation and acoustic sensation for heating and air conditioning appliances has been defined, showing that it is possible to define discriminative descriptors, to train a panel and to reliably quantify these descriptors. Sensory profiles can then be drawn for various HVAC systems. The article also describes the planned experimental laboratory at EDF (Electricite de France) where the trained panels and end-users will evaluate the sensations and preferences of real systems in eight test chambers designed to simulate the office and apartment environment.