scholarly journals The influence of perceived environmental quality on thermal comfort in an outdoor urban environment during hot summer

2021 ◽  
Vol 2042 (1) ◽  
pp. 012047
Author(s):  
Kevin Ka-Lun Lau ◽  
Chun Yin Choi

Abstract Thermal comfort in outdoor spaces is essential for human health and human wellbeing. A comfortable outdoor space enhances urban livability and sustainability. Previous studies on outdoor human thermal comfort highlighted that apart from the microclimate conditions, the psychological and physiological factors play an important role in human thermal comfort. The influence of environmental quality on human thermal comfort is being examined in this paper. A survey with a total of 1842 thermal comfort responses was conducted during a hot summer in Hong Kong. Perceived aesthetic and acoustic quality votes are strongly associated with Thermal Sensation Votes (TSV). Thermal Comfort Votes (TCV) in the satisfied aesthetic group and the satisfied acoustic group are significantly higher than that in the not satisfied group. A sensation of comfort was confirmed by 39.8% and 38.4% of participants in the satisfied aesthetic group and the satisfied acoustic group, while only 22.2% and 23.9% of the members of the not satisfied group felt comfortable. The study suggested that the perceived environmental qualities are highly associated with thermal sensation and thermal comfort, and a beautiful and quiet environment can improve the thermal comfort and thermal tolerance.

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-341
Author(s):  
Golnoosh Manteghi ◽  
Tasneem Mostofa ◽  
Hasanuddin Bin Lamit

The present study aims to establish a correlation between the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and subjective thermal sensation in the Tropics, assessing their impact on local as well as international pedestrians. The pilot test was conducted in six scenarios in the Malacca region of Malaysia. The RayMan model calculated the PET, which is further used to synthetically evaluate the thermal environment for six scenarios, each with a different river width and pavement material. The independent t-test and regression analysis determined the correlation between human thermal comfort acceptability and the thermal environment indices of outdoor spaces. Most of the outdoor thermal comfort assessments have been carried out focusing on local urban residents, while the same assessments on tourists are limited. This research provides necessary insight into the perception of outdoor microclimatic conditions in the Malacca heritage area and also identifies the perception on a few important psychological factors of these two demographic groups. An awareness of such issues would be fruitful for architects, planners and urban designers engaged in the process of designing and planning tourist destinations.


Atmosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
João Gobo ◽  
Marlon Faria ◽  
Emerson Galvani ◽  
Fabio Goncalves ◽  
Leonardo Monteiro

The bioclimatic well-being of individuals is associated with the environmental characteristics of where they live. Knowing the relationships between local and regional climatic variables as well as the physical characteristics of a given region and their implications on thermal comfort is important for identifying aspects of thermal sensation in the population. The aim of this study is to develop an empirical model of human thermal comfort based on subjective and individual environmental patterns observed in the city of Santa Maria, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (Subtropical climate). Meteorological data were collected by means of an automatic meteorological station installed in the city center, which contained sensors measuring global solar radiation, air temperature, globe temperature (via a grey globe thermometer), relative humidity and wind speed and direction. A total of 1720 people were also interviewed using a questionnaire adapted from the model recommended by ISO 10551. Linear regressions were performed to obtain the predictive model. The observed results proposed a new empirical model for subtropical climate, the Brazilian Subtropical Index (BSI), which was verified to be more than 79% accurate, with a coefficient of determination of 0.926 and an adjusted R2 value of 0.924.


Author(s):  
Nurshahrily Idura Ramli ◽  
Mohd Izani Mohamed Rawi ◽  
Ahmad Zahid Hijazi ◽  
Abdullah Hayyan Kunji Mohammed

<p>In this modern century where fine comfort is a necessity especially in buildings and occupied space, the study to satisfy one aspect of human comfort is a must. This study encompasses of exploring the physiological and environmental factors in achieving thermal comfort which specifically considering the clothing insulation and metabolic rate of students as well as the deployment of dry-bulb temperature, mean radiant temperature, humidity, and air movement in order to obtain the level of comfort students are experiencing in class. The level of comfort are detected by using ASHRAE 55 to determine the average thermal sensation response through the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) value. An android application were developed to read input of recognizing clothing level (thickness of clothing) and capturing metabolic rate to cater the inputs for physiological factors, while radiant temperature, humidity and air movement are captured through static sensors set up in the classroom space. This paper analyses both the physiological and environmental factors in affecting students in class and further determine their comfort levels that is a major influencing factor of focus in learning. Through cross referencing collected data from IoT enabled nodes, it is found that both physiological and environmental factors, and the combination of them greatly influence in getting the most comfortable state with PMV value of 0.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 165 ◽  
pp. 01026
Author(s):  
Jinwei Li ◽  
Lilin Zhao ◽  
Zheyao Peng ◽  
Zijian Wang ◽  
Taotao Shui

In order to study the outdoor thermal comfort during the transition season in Hefei, a university in Hefei adopted a combination of field environmental measurements and questionnaires to study the changes in thermal sensation and thermal comfort of outdoor people before and after the transition season. The rankings of the effects of temperature, wind speed, humidity, and solar radiation on human thermal comfort were obtained through surveys, and the proportion of each parameter’s influence on human thermal comfort was analyzed. The relationship between thermal sensation and thermal comfort was analyzed, and the application was established through regression analysis Prediction model of thermal sensation in autumn and winter outdoor environment in Hefei area.


1983 ◽  
Vol 27 (8) ◽  
pp. 742-745 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick H. Rohles ◽  
Byron W. Jones

In order to determine the effect of ceiling fans on human thermal comfort under winter indoor conditions, 72 subjects (36 men and 36 women) were exposed to 21°C/40% rh for 3 hours while experiencing still air conditions (0.08 m/s) and air velocities where a ceiling fan was operating in a upward-thrust mode at 2 velocities (0.18 and 0.28 m/s). Two subjective responses, thermal sensation and thermal comfort, were recorded each half hour. The results showed that after 2 hours, which may be assumed to be the maximum period of time that an individual would sit without getting up, the subjects recorded (1) the same neutral thermal sensation when the fan was at the still air condition (0.0 8 m/s) as when it was producing an air velocity of 0.18 m/s, (2) a slightly cool thermal sensation at a velocity of 0.28 m/s and (3) no significant difference in thermal comfort between still air (0.08 m/s) and velocities up to 0.28 m/s. It was concluded that the air movement created by operating the ceiling fan under winter conditions does not contribute to nor detract from human comfort nor did it produce any response resembling wind chill. These results were considered conservative since no temperature stratification existed in the test chamber air space which would be expected in exist in a conventionally heated room space.


2021 ◽  
pp. 277-277
Author(s):  
Xiaozhou Wu ◽  
Genglin Liu ◽  
Jie Gao ◽  
Shuang Wu

A ceiling cooling (CC) system integrated with a mechanical ventilation system is an advanced HVAC system for the modern office building with glass curtain wall. In this paper, considering the influence of heat transfer of external envelope, the indoor thermal environment and human thermal comfort were objectively measured and subjectively evaluated in a ceiling cooling room with mixing ventilation (MV) or underfloor air distribution (UFAD). Indoor physical parameters and human skin temperatures were measured as the chilled ceiling surface temperature and supply air temperature were 17.1?C-17.6?C and 22.2?C - 22.6?C. Simultaneously, 16 subjects (8 males and 8 females) were selected to subjectively evaluate the thermal environment. The results showed that the difference between mean radiant temperature and air temperature in the occupied zone was 0.8?C with CC+MV and 1.2?C with CC+UFAD, and the indoor air velocity was 0.17m/s with CC+MV and 0.13m/s with CC+UFAD. In addition, the calculated and measured thermal sensation votes with CC+MV were all slightly less than those with CC+UFAD. Therefore, ventilation system type had a slight impact on the indoor thermal environment and human thermal comfort in the ceiling cooling room.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson Spohr Nedel ◽  
Fábio Luiz Teixeira Gonçalves ◽  
Celso Macedo Junior ◽  
Maria Regina Alves Cardoso

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to carry out a climatological analysis of human thermal comfort in the São Paulo city, Brazil, for outdoor and indoor environments, applying different indexes of thermal comfort in order to assess which of them represent best the weather characteristics of the São Paulo city. The relationship between these indexes and the seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer) was investigated in the period from 1980 to 2005, for outdoor environments, and during 2005, for the indoor environments. The results showed that the most appropriate index for São Paulo, both for internal and external conditions was the Effective Temperature Index (ET) as it has a broad classification and can provide appropriate representations of the region’s comfort. According to this index, the mornings during summer in the outdoor environments showed mild discomfort by cold, and the afternoons were comfortable. In winter, there was thermal stress by cold during the mornings and a slight discomfort by cold during the afternoons. For indoor environments in the summer, most of the houses presented comfortable mornings, and afternoons with discomfort in relation to the heat, while in the winter, period proved to be uncomfortable and stressful due to cold and the afternoonscharacterized themselves as comfortable.Keywords: thermal sensation, biometeorology, biometeorological indexes.RESUMO. O objetivo deste estudo é realizar uma análise climatológica do conforto térmico humano na cidade de São Paulo, Brasil, para ambientes externos e internos, aplicando diferentes índices de conforto térmico, a fim de avaliar qual deles melhor representa as características climáticas da cidade de São Paulo. A relação entre esses índices e as estações do ano (outono, inverno, primavera, verão) foi investigada no período compreendido entre 1980 e 2005 para os ambientes externos, como também durante o ano de 2005 para os ambientes internos. Os resultados mostraram que o índice de Temperatura Efetiva (TE) é o mais apropriado para São Paulo, tanto para condições internas quanto externas, pois este possui uma classificação ampla e pode fornecer representações adequadas do conforto da região. Segundo esse índice, as manhãs, durante o verão nos ambientes externos, apresentaram leve desconforto por frio, e as tardes estiveram confortáveis. Já no inverno, observou-se estresse térmico por frio durante as manhãs e um ligeiro desconforto por frio no período das tardes. Para os ambientes internos, a maioria das casas apresentou no verão manhãs confortáveis e tardes com desconforto em relação ao calor; já no inverno, o período das manhã mostrou-se desconfortável e estressante devido ao frio e as tardes caracterizaram-se como confortáveis.Palavras-chave: sensação térmica, biometeorologia, índices biometeorológicos.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-476 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krittiya Ongwuttiwat ◽  
Sudaporn Sudprasert ◽  
Thananchai Leephakpreeda

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the determination of human thermal comfort with wearing clothes, with different water vapor permeability. Currently, the predicted mean vote (PMV) equation is widely used to determine thermal sensation scales of human comfort. However, moisture permeability of clothes has been not taken in account where the heat is lost from a human body due to water vapor diffusion through clothes. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the heat loss is derived based on the real structure of textiles, causing water vapor pressure difference between air on skin and ambient air. The PMV equation is modified to differentiate a thermal sensation scale of comfort although patterns of clothes are the same. Interview tests are investigated with wearing clothes from three types of textiles: knitted polyester, coated nylon–spandex, and polyurethane, under various air conditions. Findings The moisture permeabilities of knitted polyester, coated nylon–spandex and polyurethane are 16.57×10−9 kg/m2 s•kPa, 9.15×10−9 kg/m2•s•kPa and 2.99×10−9 kg/m2•s•kPa, respectively. The interviews reveal that most people wearing knitted-polyester clothes have the greatest cold sensations under various air conditions since moisture permeability is the highest, compared to coated nylon–spandex, and polyurethane leather. Correspondingly, the predicted results of the modified PMV equation are close to the actual mean votes of interviewees with a coefficient of determination R2=0.83. On the other hand, the coefficient of determination from the predicted results of the conventional PMV equation is significantly lower than unity, with R2=0.42. Practical implications In practice, this quantitative determination on human thermal comfort gives some concrete recommendations on textile selection of clothes for acceptable satisfaction of thermal comfort under various surrounding conditions of usage. Originality/value The modified PMV equation effectively determines human comfort on a thermal sensation scale due to the moisture permeability of clothes. To make generic conclusion, experimental results of additional three textiles, such as plain weave/lining polyester, knitted spandex, and open structure polyester, are reported. They confirm that the modified PMV equation effectively determines human comfort on a thermal sensation scale due to the moisture permeability of clothes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 5387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Binyi Liu ◽  
Zefeng Lian ◽  
Robert D. Brown

Global climate change and intensifying heat islands have reduced human thermal comfort and health in urban outdoor environments. However, there has been little research that has focused on how microclimates affect human thermal comfort, both psychologically and physiologically. We investigated the effect of a range of landscape microclimates on human thermal comfort and health using questionnaires and physiological measurements, including skin temperature, skin conductance, and heart rate variability, and compared the results with the effect of prevailing climate conditions in open spaces. We observed that in landscape microclimates, thermal sensation votes significantly decreased from 1.18 ± 0.66 (warm–hot) to 0.23 ± 0.61 (neutral–slightly warm), and thermal comfort increased from 1.18 ± 0.66 (uncomfortable–neutral) to 0.23 ± 0.61 (neutral–comfortable). In the landscape microclimates, skin temperature and skin conductance decreased 0.3 ± 0.8 °C and 0.6 ± 1.0 μs, respectively, while in the control, these two parameters increased by 0.5 ± 0.9 °C and 0.2 ± 0.7 μs, respectively. Further, in landscape microclimates, subject heart rate variability increased significantly. These results suggest landscape microclimates improve human thermal comfort and health, both psychologically and physiologically. These findings can provide an evidence base that will assist urban planners in designing urban environments for the health and wellbeing of residents.


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