Sensitivity Numerical Analysis of Human Body Exergy Balance under an Unsteady-State Thermal Environment<br/> —Behavioral Adaptation Induced by Undesirable Cold Storage by Building Envelope in Winter

Abstract

We analyzed the relationships between the human body exergy balance and behavioral adaptations induced by undesirable cold storage by a building envelope under an unsteady-state thermal environment in winter. The complex interaction of the warm exergy production by shivering, lifting of the shell ratio, and reduction of the blood flow rate was considered to constitute the physiological adaptation necessary for maintaining the constant core temperature, which was an important aspect in living organisms. In the case of intermittent use room, it was suggested that better thermal comfort and desirable behavioral adaptations, which decreased the consumption of fossil fuels, could be achieved if interior wooden cladding was used in constructions with building envelopes that had a comparatively large heat capacity, or in cases of wooden constructions in which the building envelope heat capacity was comparatively small.