Design a Personal Thermal Comfort Product for Bosch

Abstract

With the already happening governmental regulations(The Netherlands), an increase in consumer price of natural gas is noticeable. With COVID-19 and now the war in Ukraine energy resources are becoming increasingly expensive. 90 percent Dutch houses are heated with gas. Based on the energy consultant, gas supplies an average to 9769 kWh of energy per m3. Each house use up to 1500 m3 per year. 14654 kWh for a year on an average is needed for one household. A heat pump (HP) needs about 6513 kWh average per year depending on type house, size and season. From society we are going through a shift from gas to electricity. For a house this can be done with replacing a gas based boiler with for instance a heat pump. But it doesn’t necessarily provide people the same scale of thermal comfort. Shouldn’t we rethink the way we feel comfortable in our homes? Design opportunities that contributes to Bosch’s future vision and mission are explored. The problem at the heart of this project is defined as: To what extent can a product increase the personal thermal comfort of the user and be more energy efficient? And can therefore a personal product provide the necessary heat if the central heating temperature settings is set to 18°C? User-centered design and thermal comfort are the key methodology and research supporting this project. Both were used for exploring the relationship between users’ behaviour (personal heaters) and the influencing factors, thereby providing valuable insights for all design directions. This project is finalized with a product concept, “Ori”, a flexible Far Infrared (FIR) heater that has multi product configurations and use-cases. It applies various design criteria based on the inputs of thermal comfort research, user interviews, heating technology research, aiming and product flexibility configurations to create a personal experience for users. If the challenges are addressed, Ori could be a valuable product for Bosch’s consumer products portfolio and offer the user financial benefit and a decrease in yearly electrical energy consumption. Ori will use up to 229 kWh per year which is nearly 10 times less compared to a conventional personal heater (2148 kWh). The performance would be measurable through a simulation of a working HP, a room, a user, Ori and a Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) measurement device that address thermal comfort (ISO 7730). In addition to this concept, this project has addressed possible opportunities and requirements in the field of FIR heating, which could be used as an input for other relevant product developments within Bosch’s (thermal) comfort and well-being department.