Thermal sensation is studied experimentally under mixing ventilation, displacement ventilation, and stratum ventilation in an environmental chamber. Forty‐eight subjects participated in all tests under the same boundary conditions but different ventilation methods in the classroom. Thermal comfort analysis was carried out according to the designated supply airflow rate, room temperature, and relative humidity for the three ventilation methods. The thermal neutral temperature under stratum ventilation is approximately 2.5°C higher than that under mixing ventilation and 2.0°C higher than that under displacement ventilation. This result indicates that stratum ventilation could provide satisfactory thermal comfort level to rooms of temperature up to 27°C. The energy saving attributable to less ventilation load alone is around 12% compared with mixing ventilation and 9% compared with displacement ventilation. Practical Implications The confirmation of the significantly elevated thermal neutral temperature can have a number of implications for both thermal comfort in an air‐conditioned room and energy consumption of the associate air‐conditioning system. With respect to the former, it provides scientific basis for the feasibility of elevated room temperatures, and with respect to the latter, it reveals considerable potentials for energy saving.

Three human test series were conducted to evaluate the uniformity of the thermal environments in a stratum‐ventilated chamber with dimensions of 8.8 m (L) × 5.1 m (W) × 2.4 m (H). In all, nineteen conditions were generated by adjusting the room temperature, supply airflow rate, and supply terminal type. An air diffuser performance index (ADPI) of at least 80% was achieved for most cases. This result shows that the air velocity and temperature in the occupied zone are reasonably uniform. Subjective assessments using the ASHRAE 7‐point scale indicate that the thermal sensations of the subjects in stratum ventilation are also uniform. This study examines the applicability of the predicted mean vote (PMV) model for evaluating stratum ventilation. When compared to the actual mean thermal sensation votes (ATS), the PMV values are acceptable. The PMV results at a height of 1.1 m above the floor show better agreement with the ATS than at a height of 0.1 m.