THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS INSIDE A CAR

Owing to the hot harsh weather conditions in Kuwait during the summer months, the ambient temperature inside a car parked in the sun may rea ch 50 degrees C and the temperature may reach 75 degrees C. As a resul t, people are seriously concerned about how to keep their cars cool. T his paper addresses the behaviour of the air temperature inside a car parked in the sun. Different covering arrangements were tested, includ ing covering the front windshield, covering the front windshield and f our side windows, and covering both windshields and four side windows. In addition, the novel idea was also tested of installing a solar pow ered ventilating fan. Such a technique was found to be very effective in reducing the inside air temperature of a car parked in the sun. The effects of the covering arrangements of the car and the solar fan on the initial cooling rate of an air-conditioning system during normal d riving conditions were also analysed. Different physical parameters, n amely air velocity, mean radiant temperature and humidity, were combin ed with air temperature to determine the comfort level of a person ins ide a car. (C) 1997 by John Whey & Sons, Ltd.