scholarly journals Modelling mean radiant temperature in outdoor environments: contrasting the approaches of different simulation tools

2021 ◽  
Vol 2069 (1) ◽  
pp. 012186
Author(s):  
E Badino ◽  
M Ferrara ◽  
L Shtrepi ◽  
E Fabrizio ◽  
A Astolfi ◽  
...  

Abstract Global warming and increasing urbanization are expected to threaten public health in cities, by increasing the heat stress perceived by the inhabitants. Outdoor thermal comfort conditions are influenced by the material and the geometric features of the surrounding urban fabric at both the urban and building scales. In built environments, performance-aware design choices related to street paving or building façade can enhance outdoor thermal comfort in their surroundings. Reliable estimations of outdoor thermal comfort conditions are required to evaluate and control the micro-bioclimatic influences of different design choices. The mean radiant temperature is the physical variable that has the greatest influence on outdoor thermal comfort conditions during summertime. Since its calculation is complex, the available simulation tools employ different approaches and assumptions to estimate it, and potential users need to be aware of their capabilities and simplifications. This research compares the calculation procedures and assumptions of different performance simulation tools (i.e. ENVI-met, TRNSYS, Ladybug/Honeybee, CitySim, and SOLENE-microclimat) to predict the mean radiant temperature in outdoor spaces, based on the available information in the scientific literature. Their ability to account for different radiative components in both the longwave and shortwave spectra is summarized, and practical information regarding the degree of interoperability with the modelling environments and the level of geometrical detail of the virtual model supported by the tools is provided. This work aims to help potential users in the selection of the most appropriate performance tool, based on the requirement of their projects.

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Noémi Kántor ◽  
János Unger

AbstractThis paper gives a review on the topic of the mean radiant temperature Tmrt, the most important parameter influencing outdoor thermal comfort during sunny conditions. Tmrt summarizes all short wave and long wave radiation fluxes reaching the human body, which can be very complex (variable in spatial and also in temporal manner) in urban settings. Thermal comfort researchers and urban planners need easy and sound methodological approaches to assess Tmrt. After the basics of the Tmrt calculation some of the methods suitable for obtaining Tmrt also in urban environments will be presented.. Two of the discussed methods are based on instruments which measure the radiation fluxes integral (globe thermometer, pyranometer-pyrgeometer combination), and three of the methods are based on modelling the radiation environment with PC software (RayMan, ENVI-met and SOLWEIG).


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23
Author(s):  
Guglielmina Mutani ◽  
Valeria Todeschi

Green urban infrastructures have a significant impact on urban climate mitigation, on indoor and outdoor thermal comfort and on energy performance of buildings. In this paper, outdoor thermal comfort conditions and energy saving for space heating and cooling were investigated before and after the use of roof-integrated green technologies. Existing urban energy and climate models and tools were applied to an urban area located in a Turin (Italy). CitySim, ENVI-met and SOLWEIG tools and a GIS-based model were used to evaluate the mean radiant temperature and the thermal comfort of outdoor spaces before and after the use of vegetated roofs and green surfaces such as the predicted mean vote (PMV), the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and the universal thermal climate index (UTCI). A GIS-based engineering model and CitySim tool were used to evaluate the energy saving and energy independence index for space heating and cooling after the use of green roofs and solar technologies. According to the shape and the suitability of rooftop elaborated with GIS tools, some roofs were identified as potential green roofs other as potential solar roofs for installing solar thermal collectors and photovoltaic panels. According to the results it is possible to confirm that the use of green roofs and urban greenery can decrease the mean radiant temperature until about 10℃ during summer season, improving outdoor thermal comfort conditions and energy savings with a reduction of 12% for space cooling energy consumption.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1443
Author(s):  
Maria Angela Dissegna ◽  
Tiangang Yin ◽  
Hao Wu ◽  
Nicolas Lauret ◽  
Shanshan Wei ◽  
...  

The microclimatic conditions of the urban environment influence significantly the thermal comfort of human beings. One of the main human biometeorology parameters of thermal comfort is the Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt), which quantifies effective radiative flux reaching a human body. Simulation tools have proven useful to analyze the radiative behavior of an urban space and its impact on the inhabitants. We present a new method to produce detailed modeling of Tmrt spatial distribution using the 3-D Discrete Anisotropic Radiation Transfer model (DART). Our approach is capable to simulate Tmrt at different scales and under a range of parameters including the urban pattern, surface material of ground, walls, roofs, and properties of the vegetation (coverage, shape, spectral signature, Leaf Area Index and Leaf Area Density). The main advantages of our method are found in (1) the fine treatment of radiation in both short-wave and long-wave domains, (2) detailed specification of optical properties of urban surface materials and of vegetation, (3) precise representation of the vegetation component, and (4) capability to assimilate 3-D inputs derived from multisource remote sensing data. We illustrate and provide a first evaluation of the method in Singapore, a tropical city experiencing strong Urban Heat Island effect (UHI) and seeking to enhance the outdoor thermal comfort. The comparison between DART modelled and field estimated Tmrt shows good agreement in our study site under clear-sky condition over a time period from 10:00 to 19:00 (R2 = 0.9697, RMSE = 3.3249). The use of a 3-D radiative transfer model shows promising capability to study urban microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort with increasing landscape details, and to build linkage to remote sensing data. Our methodology has the potential to contribute towards optimizing climate-sensitive urban design when combined with the appropriate tools.


1977 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Smith ◽  
A. Rae

SUMMARYThe patient is identified as being of prime importance for comfort standards in hospital ward areas, other ward users being expected to adjust their dress to suit the conditions necessary for patient comfort. A study to identify the optimum steady state conditions for patient comfort is then described.Although this study raises some doubts as to the applicability of the standard thermal comfort assessment techniques to ward areas, it is felt that its results give a good indication of the steady-state conditions preferred by the patients. These were an air temperature of between 21.5° and 22° C and a relative humidity of between 30% and 70%, where the air velocity was less than 0.1 m/s and the mean radiant temperature was close to air temperature.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 177-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangkertadi Sangkertadi ◽  
Reny Syafriny

The purposes of this article is to explore knowledge of outdoor thermal comfort in humid tropical environment for urban activities especially for people in walking activity, and those who stationary/seated with moderate action. It will be characterized the pair influence of wind speed and radiant temperature on the outdoor thermal comfort. Many of researchers stated that those two microclimate variables give significant role on outdoor thermal comfort in tropical humid area. Outdoor Tropical Comfort (OTC) model was used for simulation in this study. The model output is comfort scale that refers on ASHRAE definition. The model consists of two regression equations with variables of air temperature, globe temperature, wind speed, humidity and body posture, for two types of activity: walking and seated. From the results it can be stated that there is significant role of wind speed to reduce mean radiant temperature and globe temperature, when the velocity is elevated from 0.5 m/s to 2 m/s. However, the wind has not play significant role when the speed is changed from 2 m/s to 3.5 m/s. The results of the study may inspire us to implement effectiveness of electrical-fan equipment for outdoor space in order to get optimum wind speed, coupled with optimum design of shading devices to minimize radiant temperature for thermal comfort.


2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Majewski ◽  
Marek Telejko ◽  
Łukasz J. Orman

AbstractAnalysis of thermal comfort in the ENERGIS Building, an intelligent building in the campus of the Kielce University of Technology, Poland is the focus of this paper. For this purpose, air temperature, air relative humidity, air flow rate and carbon dioxide concentration were measured and the mean radiant temperature was determined. Thermal sensations of the students occupying the rooms of the building were evaluated with the use of a questionnaire. The students used a seven-point scale of thermal comfort. The microclimate measurement results were used to determine the Predicted Mean Vote and the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied indices.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2110463
Author(s):  
Mehmet Furkan Özbey ◽  
Cihan Turhan

Thermal comfort depends on four environmental (air velocity, relative humidity, air temperature, mean radiant temperature) and two personal (clothing insulation and metabolic rate) parameters. Among all parameters, the mean radiant temperature (tr) is the most problematic variable in thermal comfort studies due to its complexity. Measurement methods, calculation methods and assumptions are mostly used to obtain the tr. Researchers mainly prefer to obtain the tr via measurement methods or assumptions due to their easiness compared to the calculation methods. Besides, some researchers use constant values of angle factors in calculation methods. However, using constant values is not proper for every indoor environment, and it causes wrong estimations in the tr and thus the thermal comfort. This paper gives the importance of calculation of angle factors, with an example of a university office building in temperate climate zone, according to the ISO 7726. The angle factors of the room were calculated for a seated occupant from the centre of gravity in three different locations and compared with the constant angle factors. The results indicate that a significant difference (MAPE of 1.02) was found in the tr values, which were obtained by calculation of constant values of angle factors.


2021 ◽  
pp. 62-74
Author(s):  
V. Deshko ◽  
◽  
N. Buyak ◽  
I. Bilous ◽  
◽  
...  

The paper highlights the topical issue of ensuring the appropriate thermal comfort level and reducing energy consumption by public buildings. Thermal modernization, in turn, allows increasing the level of thermal comfort, which is not taken into account and evaluated in practice, although the relevant standards for comfort conditions and categories of buildings to ensure comfort have been introduced in Ukraine. The aim of the study is to analyze the impact of thermal modernization on the level of energy consumption and thermal comfort. The paper analyzes the change in the level of comfort before and after thermal modernization, defines the comfortable conditions category of the building, presents the change in the mean radiant temperature, as one of the main factors of PMV change in these conditions. PMV has been found to vary from -0.7 in the cold months to 0.2 in the off-season. Changing the thermal resistance can increase the PMV. The wall of the S orientation is characterized by larger fluctuations of PMV, which is due to the inflow of solar radiation and as a consequence of increasing the mean room radiant temperature. The change in the value of energy consumption is analyzed, the class of energy efficiency and the category for providing comfortable conditions are determined. Such an approach on the example of a real building is an example for conducting energy audits and certification taking into account comfort indicators.


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