Occupant behaviour and obstacles in operating the openings in offices in India

There is limited information available about occupant’s window opening behaviour in India. Operating doors and windows is a vital adaptation mechanism in warm climates. This paper reports on a field study which collected and analysed data on the use of openings, comfort responses and the simultaneous temperatures in Indian offices. Occupants in naturally ventilated buildings used the windows and doors adaptively as the seasons changed and the temperature varied. We found that 50% of the windows would be opened at an indoor air temperature of 30 °C, using logistic regression. We noted some non-thermal factors possibly affecting the adaptive operation of controls as well, including: design and construction, operation and maintenance, environmental socio-cultural, attitudinal, and behavioural aspects. For example, in a few offices, attendants customarily operated the windows instead of occupants. A window’s potential for modifying or adapting to their comfort temperature hinges on the effective handling of these hurdles.