ASHRAE Journal - October 2021 - 6

INDUSTRY NEWS
Research Q&A
How Bedroom Temperature,
Ventilation Affect Sleep Quality
SYDNEY-The microclimate that your bedding creates
affects your sleep comfort more than your bedroom's
temperature does, according to a recent Science and Technology
for the Built Environment article.
" Associations of Bedroom Temperature and Ventilation
with Sleep Quality " studied the effect of bedroom environmental
quality on the quality of sleep in a field study
conducted in Sydney, Australia. Researcher Richard de
Dear, Ph.D., discussed the study with ASHRAE Journal.
How does this research differ from other research
about bedroom temperature and sleep?
The overwhelming majority of earlier research on this
topic has been conducted in the artificial laboratory
setting, which, at best, can only approximate real bedroom
environmental conditions and the experience of
those conditions by " real " subjects, as opposed to most
laboratory studies in this field using university student
subjects.
The Sydney research project described here is one of
the few surveys conducted in normal residences with
non-student subjects. This was one of the rare studies to
draw causal linkages between bedroom environmental
conditions and sleep quality of non-student subjects.
In this sense, our naturalistic (conducting surveys in
Industry Roundup
2022 AHR Expo Opens Registration for Las Vegas Show
WESTPORT, CONN.-The AHR Expo (International Air-Conditioning,
Heating, Refrigerating Exposition) is scheduled
return to Las Vegas Jan. 31-Feb. 2, 2022. The show would
be the industry's first major in-person gathering following
pandemic shutdowns. Source: AHR Expo
USDA: Freezing Alternative Could Save Energy
ALBANY, CALIF.-Shifting to a new food freezing method could
make for safer and better-quality frozen foods while saving
energy and reducing carbon emissions, according to
a new study by the United States Department of Agri6
ASHRAE
JOURNAL ashrae.o rg O CTO B E R 2021
normal residences, with non-student subjects) research
design makes the findings more generalizable to the
population at large.
How can this research further the industry's knowledge
on this topic?
We think the main implication of this study into the
operation of sleeping environments is that bedroom
ventilation should be prioritized over thermal environmental
conditions.
Why? First, because IAQ seems to have a more direct
impact on both subjective and objective metrics of sleep
quality. Second, because we can easily adapt the sleeping
microclimate underneath bedding where it counts most
by tuning its insulation properties to suit a range of bedroom
temperatures.
What lessons, facts and/or guidance can an engineer
working in the field take away from this research?
Retrospective estimates of nocturnal thermal comfort
(i.e., morning-after perceptions) seem to be unrelated
to objective bedroom thermal conditions during sleep.
ASHRAE defines thermal comfort as " that state of mind
that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment, "
but sleeping persons are oblivious to that state of
mind-at least within the moderate range of bedroom
culture and University of California-Berkeley scientists.
The study discusses isochoric freezing, a new freezing
method that works by storing foods in a sealed, rigid
container filled with a liquid such as water. Source: USDA
Simulation Tool Creates Digital Twin of All U.S. Buildings
OAK RIDGE, TENN.-ORNL researchers have developed a modeling
program that provides estimated energy details for
all 129 million buildings across the U.S. using publicly
available data. The modeling software suite simulates
the energy profile of buildings and can be used to look at
entire blocks and neighborhoods, which can help owners
and utilities make informed decisions on how to best
improve energy efficiency. Source: ORNL
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ASHRAE Journal - October 2021

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