Building occupants behave in various adaptive ways to restore thermal comfort when in a state of thermal discomfort. These adaptive actions affect building energy use and indoor environmental quality. This paper reports part of a draft risk study, here we focus on potential adaptive behaviour to counteract discomfort in rooms with displacement ventilation (DV) and underfloor air distribution (UFAD) systems. The most likely adaptive behaviours to be taken are: adjust clothing, open/close windows, adjust thermostat and change workstation. No conclusive relationship was found on whether these behaviours are influenced by overall or ankle thermal sensation. Females stated more frequently than males that they would open/close windows, while more males expressed the intention to use heaters and complain to building managers.

Draft is unwanted local convective cooling. The draft risk model of Fanger et al. (Energy and Buildings 12, 21-39, 1988) estimates the percentage of people dissatisfied with air movement due to overcooling at the neck. There is no model for predicting draft at ankles, which is more relevant to stratified air distribution systems such as underfloor air distribution (UFAD) and displacement ventilation (DV). We developed a model for predicted percentage dissatisfied with ankle draft (PPDAD) based on laboratory experiments with 110 college students. We assessed the effect on ankle draft of various combinations of air speed (nominal range: 0.1-0.6 m/s), temperature (nominal range: 16.5-22.5 °C), turbulence intensity (at ankles), sex, and clothing insulation (< 0.7 clo; lower legs uncovered and covered). The results show that whole body thermal sensation and air speed at ankles are the dominant parameters affecting draft. The seated subjects accepted a vertical temperature difference of up to 8 °C between ankles (0.1 m) and head (1.1 m) at neutral whole body thermal sensation, 5 °C more than the maximum difference recommended in existing standards. The developed ankle draft model can be implemented in thermal comfort and air diffuser testing standards.

Ventilation and air distribution methods are important for indoor thermal environments and air quality. Effective distribution of airflow for indoor built environments with the aim of simultaneously offsetting thermal and ventilation loads in an energy efficient manner has been the research focus in the past several decades. Based on airflow characteristics, ventilation methods can be categorized as fully mixed or non-uniform. Non-uniform methods can be further divided into piston, stratified and task zone ventilation. In this paper, the theory, performance, practical applications, limitations and solutions pertaining to ventilation and air distribution methods are critically reviewed. Since many ventilation methods are buoyancy driving that confines their use for heating mode, some methods suitable for heating are discussed. Furthermore, measuring and evaluating methods for ventilation and air distribution are also discussed to give a comprehensive framework of the review.