The Thermostat Is Set by Someone Who Is Not Sitting Where You ArePREVIEW

Building thermostats measure air
temperature at the ceiling return or a
central wall sensor. Your seat is 2 metres
away horizontally and 1.5 metres lower
vertically. The thermostat sees different
air than you occupy. You are cooling a
place nobody sits.

Central HVAC systems use single-point or
zone-based thermostat control. The sensor
is placed at a standardised location,
typically a central return air duct or
mid-wall sensor, to reduce installation
cost and provide a single temperature
reading that controls system operation for
the entire floor or zone.

A 200-person open office floor with a
single thermostat sensor operates under
the assumption that all 200 occupants
experience the same thermal environment.
In reality, thermal stratification is
severe. Ceiling height is 3 metres. Return
air is at 3 metres. Occupants sit at 1.5
metres. The temperature differential
between the occupied breathing zone and
the return air sensor is often 2 to 4
degrees Celsius. The thermostat reads a
cooler space than the people occupy.

Corner offices near windows experience
radiant heat gains from solar load. Seat
positions under air supply vents
experience cold drafts. Middle-floor
workstations experience rising warm air
from floors below. A single setpoint of
22°C is correct nowhere and wrong
everywhere.

Biothermal Microconditioning adds
person-level cooling independent of
central thermostats. Areca palm clusters
placed within 2 metres of seating areas
create local evapotranspiration and shade,
reducing the thermal stress that central
HVAC misses. Terrapods absorb daytime heat
spikes that central systems cannot respond
to quickly enough. The result: occupants
experience adaptive comfort at breathing
zone level. One day to deploy clusters. No
thermostat changes. No central system
redesign. The building's thermal privilege
gap shrinks immediately.