Thermal Perception in the Mediterranean Area: Comparing the Mediterranean Outdoor Comfort Index (MOCI) to Other Outdoor Thermal Comfort Indices

This study was conducted to investigate the thermoregulation of Holstein cattle in an adapted free-stall facility at IFSULDEMINAS, Campus Inconfidentes, by measuring thermal comfort indices. The experimental period was from the end of December 2012 to the start of January 2013, in a total of 16 days. 12 multiparous, lactating, black-and-white Holstein cows were used in a free-stall system. Rectal temperature, respiratory frequency, ambient temperature and relative humidity were recorded at 3:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. The results demonstrate that despite the temporal variations that occurred throughout the evaluation days, the confined animals maintained their body temperature in balance.

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Study of Universal Thermal Comfort Index in Hosing Estate Public Space in Bangkok, Thailand

Journal of Design and Built Environment ◽

10.22452/jdbe.vol21no2.2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 10-18

Author(s):

Pitiwat Wattanachai ◽

Chawanat Sundaranaga ◽

Thidarat Kridakorn Na Ayutthaya ◽

Non Phichetkunbodee ◽

Damrongsak Rinchumphu

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Public Space ◽

Public Spaces ◽

Thermal Reduction ◽

External Temperature ◽

Comfort Index ◽

Large Trees ◽

Public Areas ◽

Outdoor Comfort ◽

Air Circulation

A lower external temperature increases comfort and reduces the chance of heat stress; it can be impacted by the density of the urban area, and this is an important issue for the residents in housing estate developments. Therefore, to sustainably reduce this issue, the external temperature is important to manage for urban public spaces’ development. This article reports the results of studies on increasing thermal comfort in public areas by adding different types of shading into computer programs, Rhinoceros and Grasshopper, to calculate the Universal Thermal Comfort Index (UTCI). Increasing the outdoor comfort can be done by adding shaded areas via large trees that can result in thermal reduction and humidity increase, but they do not obstruct air circulation. The result can be used as a guideline for the design of public spaces in housing estates to meet the outdoor comfort efficiently and support the users’ expectations.

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A review of outdoor thermal comfort indices and neutral ranges for hot-humid regions

Urban Climate ◽

10.1016/j.uclim.2019.100531 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

pp. 100531 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Floriberta Binarti ◽

M. Donny Koerniawan ◽

Sugeng Triyadi ◽

Sentagi Sesotya Utami ◽

Andreas Matzarakis

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽

Comfort Indices

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Analyzing the Effect of Water Body on the Thermal Environment and Comfort at Indoor and Outdoor Spaces in Tropical University Campus

International Journal of Environmental Science and Development ◽

10.18178/ijesd.2021.12.10.1352 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (10) ◽

pp. 282-288

Author(s):

Farhadur Reza ◽

◽

Shoichi Kojima ◽

Wataru Ando

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Thermal Environment ◽

Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽

University Campus ◽

Clothing Insulation ◽

Comfort Index ◽

Outdoor Spaces ◽

Globe Temperature ◽

And Performance ◽

University Spaces

Water bodies play a significant role in its surrounding thermal environment. Thermal comfort in university spaces is critical that affects the students’ health and performance as well as the staffs. This study investigated thermal environment and comfort near lakeside and non-lakeside tropical university spaces. Standard Effective Temperature (SET*) have been calculated using recorded air temperature, relative humidity, globe temperature, air velocity, clothing insulation and metabolic rate to evaluate the thermal comfort in outdoor and indoor spaces. The effects of weather parameters have been clearly visible on the comfort index. The calculated SET* values indicate that the outdoor thermal comfort near a lake is much closer to the standard comfort zone than non-lakeside outdoor space. In the case of indoor thermal comfort, however, slightly a different scenario has been observed. To achieve the desirable indoor thermal environment, some design considerations are recommended based on findings.

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Outdoor Wellbeing and Quality of Life: A Scientific Literature Review on Thermal Comfort

Energies ◽

10.3390/en13082079 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (8) ◽

pp. 2079 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ernesto Antonini ◽

Vincenzo Vodola ◽

Jacopo Gaspari ◽

Michaela De Giglio

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Literature Review ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Energy Demand ◽

Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽

State Of Mind ◽

Outdoor Environments ◽

Comprehensive Picture ◽

Outdoor Comfort

While indoor comfort represents a widely investigated research topic with relation to sustainable development and energy-demand reduction in the built environment, outdoor comfort remains an open field of study, especially with reference to the impacts of climate change and the quality of life for inhabitants, particularly in urban contexts. Despite the relevant efforts spent in the last few decades to advance the understanding of phenomena and the knowledge in this specific field, which obtained much evidence for the topic’s relevance, a comprehensive picture of the studies, as well as a classification of the interconnected subjects and outcomes, is still lacking. This paper reports the outcomes of a literature review aimed at screening the available resources dealing with outdoor thermal comfort, in order to provide a state-of-the-art review that identifies the main topics focused by the researchers, as well as the barriers in defining suitable indexes for assessing thermal comfort in outdoor environments. Although several accurate models and software are available to quantify outdoor human comfort, the evocated state of mind of the final user still remains at the core of this uncertain process.

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Study on the Prediction and Improvement of Indoor Natural Light and Outdoor Comfort in Apartment Complexes Using Daylight Factor and Physiologically Equivalent Temperature Indices

Energies ◽

10.3390/en11071872 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1872 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Suk-jin Jung ◽

Seong-hwan Yoon

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Asphalt Pavement ◽

Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽

Heat Island ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Natural Lighting ◽

Population Concentration ◽

Outdoor Comfort ◽

Improvement Measures ◽

Apartment Complexes

Urbanization has intensified population concentration, and the quality of residential environments has deteriorated owing to the accelerated construction of high-rise and high-density buildings. In this study, a quantitative analysis is conducted regarding the natural lighting and outdoor thermal comfort of apartment complexes, and satisfactory improvement measures for both factors are investigated. Natural lighting and outside microclimate modeling simulations and statistical analyses are performed on 27 cases using the layout planning factors of an apartment complex. In addition, outdoor thermal comfort analysis is performed by applying heat island mitigation factors (greening and reflective asphalt pavement) to cases satisfying the condition of daylight factor (DF ≥ 75%). To improve natural lighting, the azimuth (correlation coefficient −0.812) should be considered, and to improve outdoor thermal comfort, the aspect ratio should be considered (−0.402). The results of applying heat island mitigation factors suggest that greening can improve outdoor thermal comfort to a greater extent than reflective asphalt pavement. The significance of this study is that the measures to improve residential comfort have been determined by considering the factors affecting the residential environment.

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Investigation into the differences among several outdoor thermal comfort indices against field survey in subtropics

Sustainable Cities and Society ◽

10.1016/j.scs.2018.10.022 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 676-690 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Zhaosong Fang ◽

Xiwen Feng ◽

Jianlin Liu ◽

Zhang Lin ◽

Cheuk Ming Mak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Field Survey ◽

Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽

Comfort Indices

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Study on Outdoor and Semi-Outdoor Thermal Comfort of College Campus in Central Taiwan

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1030-1032.624 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1030-1032 ◽

pp. 624-628

Author(s):

Wen Pei Sung ◽

Shih Tai Hu ◽

Yu Kuang Zhao ◽

Lei Wei

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Thermal Environment ◽

Outdoor Environment ◽

Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽

Small Island ◽

Air Conditioner ◽

Subtropical Zone ◽

Outdoor Thermal Environment ◽

Outdoor Comfort ◽

Central Taiwan

Taiwan is a small island. Some of college campuses are very tiny with large hard pavement to cause un-comfortable outdoor environment. Most of faculty and students like to stay at classroom and use air-conditioner to establish comfort thermal environment. Thus, the outdoor and semi-outdoor thermal equipments are used to detect the parameters of weather. The test and analysis results show that hard pavements cause the un-comfortable outdoor comfort. Mean Radiant Temperatures of grass in summer is higher than the other pavement because that grass pavement is lack of moisture to causes bad outdoor thermal comfort. Therefore, the fine outdoor and semi-outdoor thermal comfort environment should consider the permeable pavement and grass with suitable moisture to cause better outdoor thermal environment and large arbores should be planted widely in campus to establish a better semi-outdoor thermal temperature in campus of the subtropical zone.

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