thermal comfort

Field studies have been carried out in selected Prayer Halls to address the research questions namely the impact of air conditioning on comfort of women versus men as well as on general members versus older members of a congregation, who follow universally adopted standard proceedings, and hold prayer meetings every morning from 3.30 am to 5.30 am and every evening from around 7 pm to 9 pm.  Comfort evaluations were carried out in three cities - two of which are presented here.

Considering school students spend up to one third of their day inside classrooms, it’s surprising how few detailed empirical studies have been conducted into how the thermal environment of classrooms affects students’ comfort and performance. Whereas PMV tends to exaggerate warm discomfort for adults, the literature suggests it underestimate children’s actual thermal sensation, but there is no coherent explanation for this in terms of metabolic or other physiological differences to date.

The objective of this paper is to assess methods of thermal comfort for use in mixed-mode office buildings located in hot-humid summer climate based on air-conditioning consumption of a predominant typology of real mixed-mode office buildings. Three methods to assess thermal comfort were analysed: (1) Givoni’s chart for hot and humid climates, (2) ASHRAE 55-2010 for determining acceptable thermal conditions in occupied spaces, (3) ASHRAE 55-2010 for determining acceptable thermal conditions in naturally ventilated spaces.

This paper presents preliminary data on a series of building comfort experiments conducted in the field. We performed physical in-situ measurements and solicited responses from university students in six different classrooms at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst during three seasons (fall, winter and spring). Our questions focused on the students’ perception of comfort in varied environmental (temperature and humidity, and air speed) conditions. We collected records of the students’ academic performance in the classes, correlating their comfort perceptions to their test scores.

In order to research the indoor thermal conditions and residential thermal comfort in low-pressure plateau climate, a field study was conducted from December 2007 to February 2008 of 20 residential buildings in Lhasa. A total of 44 participants provided 356 sets of physical measurements together with subjective questionnaires that were used to collect the data. By linear regression analysis of responses based on the ASHRAE seven-point thermal sensation scale, the neutral air temperature of the total samples based on thermal sensation was 19.3℃.

This article compares the thermal performance and comfort levels produced by dry and wet roofponds monitored during the summer of 2011 in Las Vegas, NV.  The measured data shows that under typical summer conditions, a dry roofpond with a depth of 15.24 cm. installed over typical U.S. residential construction is able to keep the maximum indoor operative temperature approximately 5.1 C° below the maximum outdoor air temperature, with the minimum indoor operative temperature remaining approximately 1.8 C° above the minimum outdoor air temperature.

This article presents the results of a thermal comfort investigation carried out in a residential gated community located in a hot-humid climate.  The study comprises of real-time field monitoring of thermal comfort in representative apartment units and assessment of the utility and cooling energy consumption in these residences.  Utility energy consumption data of the residences for one year period was obtained and a survey was administered to identify the trend of air-conditioner use.  The results are summarized and used to validate a simulation model.

In order to know the thermal comfort of bedrooms, we have measured the air temperature and relative humidity in the 27 bedrooms of 11 houses. We have also conducted a thermal comfort survey, quality of sleep and occupant behaviour survey with the residents. Residents are highly satisfied with the thermal condition of the houses, using various thermal adjustments such as fans, clothing modifications, etc.

In Nordic countries overheating and cooling systems have not been the issue in apartment buildings. Historically and even in the beginning of 2000 there were not indicated such problems. New architecture with larger windows and strict energy performance requirements has changed the situation. If adequate measures are not used, new buildings may be easily overheated.

This paper describes the methods developed to couple a commercial CFD program with a multi-segmented model of human thermal comfort and physiology. A CFD model is able to predict detailed temperatures and velocities of airflow around a human body, whilst a thermal comfort model is able to predict the response of a human to the environment surrounding it.