Abstract: A personal environment system for creating a user-definable local environt within a localized zone in an ambient space, comprises a modular housing mountable in said localized zone and having an air inlet, an air outlet incorporating a diffuser for distributing conditioned air into said localized zone, an air flow channel between said air inlet and said air outlet, and a channel for a thermal fluid for supplying or carrying away heat. a blower means causes air to flow through the air channel. A heat exchanger between the air flow channel and the thermal fluid channel and includes a thermoelectric heat pump to effect transfer of heat between air flowing through the air flow channel and the thermal fluid channel.