scholarly journals Evaluating the perception of thermal environment in naturally ventilated schools in a warm and humid climate in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-25
Author(s):  
Charles Munonye ◽  
Yingchun Ji
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
High Energy ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Humid Environment ◽  
Neutral Temperature

Field study was conducted in naturally ventilated primary school buildings in a warm and humid environment in Imo State, Nigeria to determine the thermal comfort perception of young children (aged 7–12 years) and to understand the thermal conditions in the classrooms. The comfort temperature was investigated in two types of classroom buildings during the rainy and dry seasons from October 2017 to May 2018. Approximately 7050 completed valid questionnaires were collected from 330 young children repeatedly surveyed twice a day. The children answered comfort questions at the same time the indoor and outdoor thermal variables were being measured. Results indicated that the combined ‘open-space’ classrooms produced a neutral temperature of 28.8°C with comfort range, 25.2–32.3°C. The neutral temperature of the combined ‘enclosed-plan’ classrooms is 28.1°C with 25.8–30.5°C as the comfort range. The differences in the comfort perceptions may be attributed to the differences in the architectural characteristics of both categories of classroom buildings. High temperature tolerance was shown by the participating children in the study area. This article, therefore, suggests that installing air conditioning in primary schools in the warm humid environment in Nigeria may not be necessary as it could lead to unnecessary energy consumption and carbon emission. Practical application: This work is part of the main research work that pioneers research on thermal comfort in public primary school classrooms in Nigeria. The findings from this study on the acceptable indoor temperatures in naturally ventilated classrooms in the warm and humid climate in Nigeria are important information for building services engineers and architects. The young children in these classrooms can accept high indoor temperatures. The intention of this information is to discourage high energy usage in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system in primary school buildings in the study area, while maintaining the acceptable thermal comfort levels.

scholarly journals Winter Thermal Comfort and Perceived Air Quality: A Case Study of Primary Schools in Severe Cold Regions in China

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 5958
Author(s):  
Fusheng Ma ◽  
Changhong Zhan ◽  
Xiaoyang Xu ◽  
Guanghao Li
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Heating Season ◽  
Cold Regions

In Northeast China, most classrooms in primary and secondary schools still use natural ventilation during cold days in winter. This study investigated the thermal comfort and the perceived air quality of children in primary schools in severe cold regions in China. Field measurements were conducted in four typical primary classrooms in two naturally ventilated teaching buildings in the winter of 2016 in the provincial city of Shenyang. Six field surveys were distributed to 141 primary students aged 8 to 11, and 835 valid questionnaires were collected. The results showed that the indoor temperature and the daily mean CO2 concentrations of the primary school classrooms ranged from 17.06 to 24.29 °C and from 1701 to 3959 ppm, respectively. The thermal neutral temperature of the primary school students was 18.5 °C, and the 90% thermal comfort temperature ranged from 17.3 to 20.1 °C. Children were able to respond to changes in indoor air quality, but there was no significant correlation between the children’s perceptions of air quality and the carbon dioxide levels in the classroom. In general, children have a lower comfort temperature than adults. In addition, children are more sensitive to temperature changes during the heating season than adults. Due to differences in thermal sensation between children and adults, the current thermal comfort standard based on adult data is not applicable to primary school buildings and children. The air quality evaluation during heating season indicates that it is necessary to add indoor air environment monitoring instruments and purification equipment to the naturally ventilated classrooms. At present and in the future, more research based on children’s data is needed to solve the indoor air environment problems in primary school buildings.

Determining the diurnal variation in comfort temperature in school buildings in the warm and humid climate

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Munonye
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Time ◽  
Humid Environment ◽  
Adaptive Comfort ◽  
Comfort Perception ◽  
Methodological Approaches

PurposeThe paper aims to determine the thermal comfort perception of schoolchildren from a warm and humid environment. There is a concern about the effect of high temperature on the health and academic performance of schoolchildren.Design/methodology/approachObjective and subjective methodological approaches were adopted to collect data during the fieldwork in the selected primary schools. ASHRAE adaptive comfort model was adopted to analyze the data.FindingsThe paper provided empirical results about the comfort requirements of schoolchildren from the warm and humid environment. During the occupied school time, the studied schoolchildren were found to tolerate temperatures higher than the upper limit temperature recommended by ASHRAE Standard 55. The paper recommends that the studied children may not need any active ventilator to be thermally comfortable during the occupied school hoursOriginality/valueThe paper found the range of temperatures that schoolchildren from the warm and humid environment can adapt to. The information may be useful to architects, engineers and facility managers

An Attempt to Improve Air Quality in Primary Schools

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marek Telejko ◽  
Ewa Zender-Swiercz
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Maximum Value

Most primary school buildings in Poland rely on natural ventilation. This fact is attributed to the age of these buildings constructed more than dozen or even several tens of years ago. Few of them were fitted with a mechanical ventilation system allowing for the adjustment of microclimate parameters. The national requirements for gravity ventilation provide general guidelines, specifying strict description only for the airtightness of windows and doors and the minimum airflow to be supplied to the rooms. The minimum airflow supplied is independent of the number of occupants and purpose of the room. Low indoor air quality (IAQ) can impact occupants’ health and lead to poor productivity or low academic performance. Therefore the provision of good IAQ in classrooms and laboratories is very important. This paper presents the results of the investigation devoted to the quality of indoor air in classrooms of selected Polish primary school. Six primary school in a town with a population of 200 000 inhabitants were involved in the investigations. The participating school buildings were built between 1976 and 1994 and had gravity ventilation systems. The variability of basic IAQ parameters, i.e., temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide level, was analysed and the assessment of the classrooms in terms of microbiological purity was performed. The outcomes confirmed the low quality of the indoor air in these buildings. The maximum value of CO2 concentration amounted to more than 4000 ppm. Certain modifications aimed at improving IAQ were proposed during the investigations. Two solutions were implemented. The results of this study indicate that the proposed solution offers the potential to improve IAQ within classrooms.

scholarly journals Holocaust Education in the Primary School: some reflections on an emergent debate

2003 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Short
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Holocaust Education ◽  
Jewish Culture ◽  
The Holocaust ◽  
Primary School Pupils ◽  
The Way

Recent years have witnessed the beginnings of a debate over whether the Holocaust should be taught in primary schools. In this article the claims advanced in favour of the proposal are shown to be plausible but lacking in empirical support, while the counter-claims are considered either peripheral, contentious or contrary to established research. It is argued that some key omissions in the debate, such as the way primary school pupils conceptualise Jewish culture and identity, significantly strengthen the case against introducing young children to the Holocaust.

Investigation of the PMV and TSV Models of Thermal Comfort in Air-Conditioned University Classrooms in Malaysia

2016 ◽  
Vol 819 ◽  
pp. 207-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nur Atikah Shaari ◽  
Sheikh Ahmad Zaki ◽  
Mohamed Sukri Mat Ali ◽  
Azli Abd Razak
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Predicted Mean Vote ◽  
Hot And Humid Climate ◽  
University Classrooms ◽  
Adaptation Method

A field study was done on the thermal comfort of seven air-conditioned university classrooms in the hot and humid climate of Malaysia. The aims of this paper are to investigate the perceptions of thermal comfort and the adaptation method of students in air-conditioned classrooms. In total, 189 respondents from the classrooms completed the questionnaire. A comparison was made between the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) and it was found that the TSV values tended to be more sensitive than the PMV values. A variety of adaptation methods of the occupants in the classrooms are also presented. It was found that most of the occupants preferred to change the air-conditioning thermostat, probably because all the occupants had the opportunity to control the thermostat.

Effects of primary school’s physical environment on children’s spatial perception and behavior

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-443 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Türel ◽  
Elmira Ayşe Gür
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Physical Characteristics ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Projective Metric ◽  
And Behavior

Purpose The relationship between the child and his/her physical environment is an area of interaction that includes social, psychological and cultural factors along with the spatial experience, perception and behavior of the child. This study is based on the effects of spatial perception and behavior of the child within the physical environment of primary schools. In this direction, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how spatial and physical characteristics of primary school typologies affect the spatial perception and behavior of the child. Also, the parameters affecting spatial perception and behavior are examined. Design/methodology/approach The question to be investigated is how the spatial and physical characteristics of the school’s physical environment affect the child’s spatial perception and behavior in primary schools with different typologies. Within this scope, Istanbul’s Kagithane region is selected as a case study. Schools are chosen for their similar spatial and dimensional features and similar socio-economic environment. The methodology of the study consists of a literature review, an observational study carried out to discover the interaction between the child and his/her school building and the analysis of the student’s cognitive maps. These maps were evaluated according to topological, projective, metric and imaginative parameters. Findings The results show spatial organization and physical characteristics of primary school buildings with a structure that allows for change and transformation, and contributes to the physical and cognitive development of children. Originality/value This study will provide an opportunity to develop the design of future primary school buildings that can support the spatial perception and spatial experiences of the children.

scholarly journals El enfoque adaptativo del confort térmico en Sevilla = The adaptive approach to thermal comfort in Seville.

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Sánchez ◽  
C. Sánchez-Guevara ◽  
C. Rubio
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Static Model ◽  
Adaptive Model ◽  
Adaptive Comfort ◽  
Thermal Stimuli ◽  
High Energy Consumption ◽  
Consensual Approach

Resumen Aunque los estándares de confort en los edificios de oficinas acondicionados con medios mecánicos se han estudiado ampliamente a través de la norma ISO 7730 basada en los estudios de Fanger, todavía no existe un enfoque consensuado para el confort térmico en las viviendas. Muchas de esas viviendas, que componen un bloque, se han construido antes de que se introdujeran normas de ahorro de energía, por lo que existe un alto consumo energético que tiene un efecto sobre el medio ambiente y la economía. A través de los años, el modelo de confort térmico más utilizado se basa en un modelo estático, en el que el ser humano es similar a un receptor pasivo de los estímulos térmicos, mientras que el modelo adaptativo deja en manos del ocupante hacer algunos ajustes y lograr confort a través de acciones y de la adaptación psicológica. La presente investigación tiene como objetivo estudiar los límites de confort adaptativo en una vivienda similar a la mencionada anteriormente, con el fin de regular el uso de aire acondicionado y calefacción, y además reducir el exceso de consumo de energía. Abstract Although comfort standards in mechanically conditioned office buildings have been widely studied through ISO 7730 developed by Fanger, there is not a consensual approach to thermal comfort in dwellings yet. Many of those dwellings, which compose the housing block, have been built before the energy saving regulations were introduced and are generally neglected, so there is a high energy consumption which has an effect on environment and economy. Through the years, the comfort model applied to thermal comfort is a static model, in which the human being is similar to a passive recipient of thermal stimuli, while the adaptive model let the occupant make some adjustments and achieve their comfort through behavioral and psychological adaption. The present research is aimed to study the adaptive comfort limits in a dwelling similar to the ones mentioned before, in order to regulate the use of air conditioning and heating, and so the energy consumption excess. 

scholarly journals A New Methodology to Assess Building Integrated Roof Top Photovoltaic Installations at City Scales: The Tropical Coastal City Case

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rabindra Pokhrel ◽  
Andy Walker ◽  
Jorge E. González
Keyword(s):  
Energy Demand ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Building Envelope ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Coastal City ◽  
Local Climate Zones

Abstract As a consequence of the warm and humid climate of tropical coastal regions, there is high energy demand year-round due to air conditioning to maintain indoor comfort levels. Past and current practices are focused on mitigating peak cooling demands by improving heat balances by using efficient building envelope technologies, passive systems, and demand side management strategies. In this study, we explore city-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) planning integrating information on climate, building parameters and energy models, and electrical system performance, with added benefits for the tropical coastal city of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Energy balance on normal roof, flush-mounted PV roof, and tilted PV roof are used to determine PV power generation, air, and roof surface temperatures. To scale up the application to the whole city, we use the urbanized version of the Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model with the building effect parameterization (BEP) and the building energy model (BEM). The city topology is represented by the World Urban Database Access Portal Tool (WUDAPT), local climate zones (LCZs) for urban landscapes. The modeled peak roof temperature is maximum for normal roof conditions and minimum when inclined PV is installed on a roof. These trends are followed by the building air conditioning (AC) demand from urbanized WRF, maximum for normal roof and minimum for inclined roof-mounted PV. The net result is a reduced daytime Urban Heat Island (UHI) for horizontal and inclined PV roof and increased nighttime UHI for the horizontal PV roof as compared with the normal roof. The ratio between coincident AC demand and PV production for the entire metropolitan region is further analyzed reaching 20% for compact low rise and open low rise buildings due to adequate roof area but reaches almost 100% for compact high rise and compact midrise buildings class, respectively.

Development of an indoor environment evaluation model for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning control system of office buildings in subtropical region considering indoor health and thermal comfort

2021 ◽  
pp. 1420326X2110355
Author(s):  
Miaohong Huang ◽  
Yundan Liao
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Hvac Systems ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
Weighting Factors

Office occupants spend most of their time in an enclosed indoor environment, controlled by heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems especially in subtropical regions owing to the hot and humid climate. A reasonable indoor environment evaluation model is necessary to achieve the reliable control of HVAC systems that satisfies the occupants’ health and comfort needs. However, traditional HVAC systems are controlled based on a simple index that does not consider the synthesis of indoor air quality, thermal comfort and occupant preferences. In this paper, we develop a comprehensive evaluation model that encompasses these three aspects based on field survey. Field surveys were conducted to investigate indoor environmental conditions and preferences of the occupants. Collected data were then verified for model hypothesis rationality and reviewed to identify weighting factors using Pearson and regression analysis. Results showed that these parameters had significant correlations without noticeable collinearity and can be integrated using regression method. The weighting factors of each parameter were calculated using occupants’ sensation and expectation to reflect the subjective preferences in model. Finally, an evaluation model expressing the indoor thermal, air quality and occupant preferences was developed to provide an HVAC intelligent control system that is more responsive to occupant needs.

scholarly journals AN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF ISLAMABAD AND PROPOSED REMODELING FOR ONE SELECTED SCHOOL

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-38
Author(s):  
Saima Iqbal ◽  
Nomana Anjum ◽  
Nazia Iftakhar
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Building Design ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
School Buildings ◽  
Government School ◽  
Post Occupancy Evaluation ◽  
Environmental Features

Current research interest in sustainable built environment is compelling architects, engineers and designers to re-visit the existing buildings to evaluate them on environmental criteria and to assess if the building is conducive to accommodate the user needs. Such type of research, focusing on school buildings, has demonstrated that environmental features including thermal comfort, lighting, indoor air quality, acoustic and provision of open spaces, impact the performance of students and teaching staff both physically and psychologically. The paper discusses the state of government school buildings in Islamabad. Post occupancy evaluation technique has been adopted to evaluate the school buildings. Extensive case studies are carried out on five school buildings drawn from the existing Federal Government (FG) Schools (one each from the five sectors) on account of said environmental features conducive to student learning. The research is carried out in two phases; first phase comprises data collection through questionnaire surveys and observation sheets from students and teachers about their perception and satisfaction for various environmental features. In second phase the environmental meters had been used to record the temperature, lighting and acoustic levels in the selected schools. Findings from research have been compared with international and national standards, and directed to identify the inadequacies and design draw backs. The study has revealed that space standards are much below the international standards and existing classes are very cramped in most cases. There are also design flaws in lighting, thermal comfort and acoustics and essential facilities are either missing or are substandard in most cases. Finally, an attempt is made to remodel one of the five schools studied and identified as lowest in meeting the environmental features. The research concludes with recommendations applicable for remodeling of existing schools or for the construction of new primary school buildings. Keywords: User-friendly architectural design, Sustainable building design, Environmental quality of school buildings, Conducive environment, Post Occupancy Evaluation.

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