Aspects of thermal preferences in humid tropical climates.

This paper presents the findings of two recent studies on the thermal preferences of householders in upland and coastal tropical environments. The aim of the studies was to investigate those behavioural factors that influence a householder's appreciation of an indoor environment. The studies involved 159 households in Kampala, Uganda, and 104 households in Surabaya, Indonesia. The studies indicated that householders made choices regarding their indoor environments based not on comfort sensation alone, but on "real-world factors". Of particular interest in both studies was the low priority given to comfort sensation as a factor influencing the choice of indoor environments. Real-world factors, which are context specific, were found to be of greater importance and had a significant bearing on the responses made by householders. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of these results and makes suggestions for the presentation of such information to designers for the design of thermally appropriate housing.