In search of the comfortable indoor environment: A comparison of the utility of objective and subjective indicators of indoor comfort

Indoor climate comfort is important for school buildings. Nowadays, this is a topical problem, especially in renovated buildings. Poorly ventilated school classrooms create improper conditions for classrooms. A post-occupancy study was performed in a school building in temperate climatic conditions. The evaluation was based on the results of long-term monitoring of the natural ventilation strategy and measurements of the carbon dioxide concentration in the school classroom’s indoor environment. The monitoring was carried out in an old school building that was constructed in the 1970s and compared to testing carried out in the same school classroom after the building was renovated in 2016. Surprisingly, the renovated classroom had a significantly higher concentration of CO2. It was found that this was due to the regulation of the heating system and the new airtight windows. The occupants of the renovated classroom have a maintained thermal comfort, but natural ventilation is rather neglected. A controlled ventilation strategy and installation of heat recovery units are recommended to solve these problems with the classroom’s indoor environment. Microbiological testing of the surfaces in school classrooms also shows the importance of fresh air and solar radiation access for indoor comfort.

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THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENTIAL FACTORS TO INDOOR COMFORT : A study on indoor environment and comfort in offices based on synthetic investigations Part 2

Journal of Architecture and Planning (Transactions of AIJ) ◽

10.3130/aija.67.77_4 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 67 (554) ◽

pp. 77-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Toshiyuki MIURA

Keyword(s):

Statistical Analysis ◽

Indoor Environment ◽

Influential Factors ◽

Indoor Comfort

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Thermal Comfort Condition of Passengers in Naturally Ventilated Train Stations

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/201911102069 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 111 ◽

pp. 02069

Author(s):

Junta Nakano ◽

Shin-ichi Tanabe

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Indoor Environment ◽

Environmental Control ◽

Thermal Environment ◽

Field Surveys ◽

Train Station ◽

Spot Cooling ◽

Autumn And Winter ◽

Indoor Comfort ◽

Comfort Condition

Train is the most frequently used means of transportation in Tokyo. Train stations are gaining attention as commercial complex today, and higher level of comfort is being demanded for the indoor environment. Open structure of the train station and semi-outdoor like environment suggest that the thermal comfort condition is relaxed compared to indoor comfort standards. The objective of this study is to investigate the thermal comfort condition within train stations and to clarify the appropriate target for environmental control. Field surveys were carried out in summer, autumn and winter during July 2004 to August 2006 in four train stations located in urban area of Tokyo. Concourses were not air-conditioned except one station where spot cooling was operated in summer near the ticket gate. Each survey was conducted from 7:00 to 20:00 for 3 to 11 days per season per station for a total of 81 days. The survey consisted of thermal environment measurement and thermal comfort questionnaire. More than 80% of passengers felt thermally comfortable within the range of 19 to 29 °C SET*. However, acceptability zone was found to be 19 to 32 °C SET*, and it is recommended to design naturally ventilated train stations to fulfil this target.

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Climatic, Cultural, Behavioural and Technical Influences on the Indoor Environment Quality and Their Relevance for a

Future City - Rethinking Sustainability Towards a Regenerative Economy ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-71819-0_10 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 201-214

Author(s):

Edeltraud Haselsteiner ◽

Marielle Ferreira Silva ◽

Željka Kordej-De Villa

Keyword(s):

Indoor Environment ◽

Optimal Level ◽

Rational Approach ◽

Indoor Environmental Quality ◽

Environment Quality ◽

Scientific Disciplines ◽

Indoor Environment Quality ◽

Survey Results ◽

Indoor Comfort ◽

Temperature Heating

AbstractResearch about indoor comfort in future years will increasingly be guided by the pressing need for decarbonizing the built environment due to climate change. Health, efficiency, and satisfaction of work and the feeling of comfort are largely determined by the interior criteria. The sustainable indoor environment is a result of complex factors: air conditioning (ventilation), indoor temperature, heating methods, lighting, and acoustic. This chapter explores and analyzes climatic, cultural, and behavioral factors that play an important role and have an influence on technology for an indoor regenerative environment. This chapter is based on an explorative literature review and reflects indoor environmental quality, users’ expectations, and users’ behavior from the perspective of different scientific disciplines. Current standards are based on a rational approach to thermal comfort, and indicators are determined on the measured subjects’ reactions during stabilized conditions in climatic chambers. It is concluded from these results that people in different environmental conditions react similarly to everyday life. Nevertheless, survey results suggest that achieving the optimal level of the indoor environment is possible when climatic, cultural, and social context is taken into account.

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A Case Study on Indoor Comfort of Lecture Rooms in University Buildings

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.393.821 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 393 ◽

pp. 821-826

Author(s):

H.A. Harun ◽

Norsheila Buyamin ◽

Mohamad Asyraf Othman ◽

Shaharin Anwar Sulaiman

Keyword(s):

Relative Humidity ◽

Indoor Air ◽

Indoor Environment ◽

Comfort Level ◽

Learning Ability ◽

University Buildings ◽

Ventilation Rates ◽

Indoor Comfort ◽

Recommended Level

The indoor environment of lecture rooms in universities can affect the learning of students. Nevertheless, study on the actual conditions of air in relation to indoor air quality is rare. This paper presents a case study on the indoor comfort of selected lecture rooms in a university. Two rooms of different sizes and ventilation rates were selected, in which the indoors air temperature, CO2 content and relative humidity were measured both when occupied and unoccupied. The study revealed that occupancy by students did not directly affect the relative humidity in the lecture rooms, probably due to the dominating influence of the outdoor air. It was found from the study that under high occupancy, the room temperature and CO2 content would be higher than the recommended level and thus affected the comfort level of students and consequently their learning ability during the lecture.

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The relationship between indoor temperature and Feng Shui Luo Pan Compass: the case of domestic buildings in Surabaya, Indonesia

DIMENSI (Journal of Architecture and Built Environment) ◽

10.9744/dimensi.46.1.35-42 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (1) ◽

pp. 35-42

Author(s):

Juan Hogianto ◽

Christina E. Mediastika

Keyword(s):

Indoor Environment ◽

Room Temperature ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Well Being ◽

Comfort Level ◽

Feng Shui ◽

Indoor Temperature ◽

Indoor Comfort ◽

The Relationship ◽

Good Agreement

This paper reports an investigation of the scientific justification of room temperature and the beliefs on Luo Pan Compass; a part of Feng Shui wisdom. The compass is a rule of thumb on the placement of a particular room within a house to achieve indoor comfort and occupants’ well-being based on house orientation to the wind direction. The study was conducted in a quantitative method consists of field measurements and questionnaire survey. The result was to be consulted with indoor temperature comfort standard and to the Luo Pan Compass. Eight houses were selected in a purposive method. The investigation showed that the indoor temperature of seven out of eight studied houses were not within the standard. It was in good agreement with the respondents’ opinions. The finding of this study may be referred by building designers that Luo Pan Compass is relevant to the temperature comfort level of the indoor environment.

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Indoor Comfort and Symptomatology in Non-University Educational Buildings: Occupants’ Perception

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos11040357 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 357 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Miguel Ángel Campano-Laborda ◽

Samuel Domínguez-Amarillo ◽

Jesica Fernández-Agüera ◽

Ignacio Acosta

Keyword(s):

Indoor Environment ◽

Co2 Concentration ◽

Traditional Schools ◽

Southern Europe ◽

Thermal Systems ◽

Concentration Variance ◽

Air Purifier ◽

Youth Population ◽

Indoor Comfort ◽

University Classrooms

The indoor environment in non-university classrooms is one of the most analyzed problems in the thermal comfort and indoor air quality (IAQ) areas. Traditional schools in southern Europe are usually equipped with heating-only systems and naturally ventilated, but climate change processes are both progressively increasing average temperatures and lengthening the warm periods. In addition, air renewal is relayed in these buildings to uncontrolled infiltration and windows’ operation, but urban environmental pollution is exacerbating allergies and respiratory conditions among the youth population. In this way, this exposure has a significant effect on both the academic performance and the general health of the users. Thus, the analysis of the occupants’ noticed symptoms and their perception of the indoor environment is identified as a potential complementary tool to a more comprehensive indoor comfort assessment. The research presents an analysis based on environmental sensation votes, perception, and indoor-related symptoms described by students during lessons contrasted with physical and measured parameters and operational scenarios. This methodology is applied to 47 case studies in naturally ventilated classrooms in southern Europe. The main conclusions are related to the direct influence of windows’ operation on symptoms like tiredness, as well as the low impact of CO2 concentration variance on symptomatology because they usually exceeded recommended levels. In addition, this work found a relationship between symptoms under study with temperature values and the environmental perception votes, and the special impact of the lack of suitable ventilation and air purifier systems together with the inadequacy of current thermal systems.

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Current Situation of Energy and Indoor Environment in Rural Buildings of Northeast China

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.522-524.1756 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 522-524 ◽

pp. 1756-1759

Author(s):

Tian Tian Zhang ◽

Yu Fei Tan ◽

Xue Dan Zhang ◽

Chuan Kai Niu

Keyword(s):

Energy Consumption ◽

Indoor Environment ◽

Residential Buildings ◽

High Energy ◽

Field Investigation ◽

Energy Structure ◽

Construction Technology ◽

Residential Energy ◽

Rural Buildings ◽

Indoor Comfort

Due to the low levels of the design and construction technology in the countryside of northern cold region, energy consumption and indoor environment in rural residential buildings cannot be controlled effectively, which becomes one of the most prominent problems in rural energy efficiency and emission reduction. To learn the present situation of energy consumption and indoor environment in rural buildings, this paper adopts the method of field investigation and data analysis to analyze the building envelopes situation and the energy structure. Besides, indoor temperature and humidity field test and pollutant concentration test are carried out in heating period. Summarizing the problems and analyzing the reasons for the high energy consumption poor indoor environment, improvement strategies are put forward. The result will supply technical support for rural residential energy consumption and indoor comfort of rural residential buildings in the cold regions.

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