Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is an effective analysis method of personalized ventilation (PV) in indoor built environments. As an increasingly important supplement to experimental and theoretical methods, the quality of CFD simulations must be maintained through an adequately controlled numerical modeling process. CFD numerical data can explain PV performance in terms of inhaled air quality, occupants’ thermal comfort, and building energy savings. Therefore, this paper presents state-of-the-art CFD analyses of PV systems in indoor built environments. The results emphasize the importance of accurate thermal boundary conditions for computational thermal manikins (CTMs) to properly analyze the heat exchange between human body and the microenvironment, including both convective and radiative heat exchange. CFD modeling performance is examined in terms of effectiveness of computational grids, convergence criteria, and validation methods. Additionally, indices of PV performance are suggested as system-performance evaluation criteria. A specific utilization of realistic PV air supply diffuser configurations remains a challenging task for further study. Overall, the adaptable airflow characteristics of a PV air supply provide an opportunity to achieve better thermal comfort with lower energy use based on CFD numerical analyses.

To predict the thermal sensation of people located in a nonuniform environment, it is very important to clarify the local heat transfer in detail. In this context, the coupled simulation of convection, radiation, and the multi-element thermal physiological model established by Smith is investigated. The sensible heat transfer from the surface of a human body placed in uniform and front-back asymmetric radiant environments, with ambient air temperature of 28°C, was calculated using the coupled simulation method. According to the results, the microclimate around the human body and its thermal characteristics changed in response to the radiant conditions. However, compared with the results of the human subject experiments, which were measured under the same thermal conditions, in terms of skin temperatures, it is indicated that the simulation cannot accurately predict the skin temperature at the limbs, even in a uniform environment. Finally, measures for improving the prediction accuracy of the present coupled simulation method are suggested based on examination of the cause of the discrepancy.