Innovative Evaluation Techniques for Hanok Sustainability Based on Integrative Comfort Indices

This study aims to present integrative evaluation techniques that can assess spatial comfort reflecting the unique value of a vernacular building type in Korea called Hanok. For this purpose, current evaluation indices and methods of official standards for normal building performance were analyzed through previous studies, since any certified tools for Hanok evaluation do not exist. This situation has made relevant markets to be deactivated, although Hanok has valuable meanings as the traditional architecture to be succeeded to the next generation in Korea. Accordingly, specific assessment indices were derived to evaluate the Hanok sustainability especially focused on spatial comfort by using a qualitative field surveys with combined quantitative references. Then, actual resident data were collected from a series of Hanok testbeds for specific time-points including summer and winter solstices on the lunar-year system. As a result, resident data could be employed to reveal the characteristics of comfort performance from those target specimens, and show the tendency of the Hanok comfort by suggested innovative criteria for the market as a clue for its commercial potentials. Accordingly, it was concluded that the proposed techniques and indices could be certified for the Hanok evaluation and applied to the field of associated industries to show its specific values and advantages.

Global Comfort Indices in Indoor Environments: A Survey

The term “comfort” has a number of nuances and meanings according to the specific context. This study was aimed at providing a review of the influence (or “weight”) of the different factors that contribute to global comfort, commonly known as indoor environmental quality (IEQ). A dedicated section includes the methodologies and strategies for finding the most relevant studies on this topic. Resulting in 85 studies, this review outlines 27 studies containing 26 different weightings and 9 global comfort indices (GCIs) with a formula. After an overview of the main concepts, basic definitions, indices, methods and possible strategies for each type of comfort, the studies on the IEQ categories weights to reach a global comfort index are reviewed. A particular interest was paid to research with a focus on green buildings and smart homes. The core section includes global indoor environmental quality indices, besides a specific emphasis on indices found in recent literature to understand the best aspects that they all share. For each of these overall indices, some specific details are shown, such as the comfort categories, the general formula, and the methods employed. The last section reports IEQ elements percentage weighting summary, common aspects of GCIs, requisites for an indoor global comfort index (IGCI), and models adopted in comfort category weighting. Furthermore, current trends are described in the concluding remarks pointing to a better IGCI by considering additional aspects and eventually adopting artificial intelligence algorithms. This leads to the optimal control of any actuator, maximising energy savings.

Thermography and physiology of stress in dairy calves in outdoor holding pens covered with geosynthetics

ABSTRACT This study aimed to assess the environmental variables, thermal comfort indices and physiological responses of calves in outdoor holding pens shaded with geosynthetics. Twenty crossbred females (Giroland, Jersey and Holstein) in the suckling phase (from birth to 90 days old) with an average initial live weight of 40.6 kg were used. A completely randomized block design was used, in a 4 × 3 factorial scheme with five replicates. The roofing materials (polyethylene mesh, geocomposite drainage layer, nonwoven geotextile and woven geotextile) were the first factor and time periods (8 to 10 a.m., 12 to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.) the second factor. The following environmental variables were measured to calculate thermal comfort indices: temperature-humidity index, black globe-humidity index and enthalpy. The physiological variables analyzed were respiratory rate, rectal temperature and skin temperature. Environmental variables and thermal comfort indices did not differ between the different roof types, however, a significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) was observed between the time periods, with 12 to 2 p.m. being the most critical period. The lowest average respiratory rate (60.3 breaths min-1) and rectal temperature (38.9 °C) were recorded for the animals kept under the geocomposite drainage layer roof. There was a significant difference (p ≤ 0.05) for interaction between treatment and time periods for the cannon area. The geosynthetics studied can be used as roofing material for outdoor holding pens, with the geocomposite drainage layer being the most indicated for tropical regions.

Development and initial tests of an urban comfort monitoring system

The paper presents a newly developed low-cost measurement system for outdoor comfort monitoring. The solution is based on IoT (Internet of Things) technologies and is cloud-connected. The system is able to collect physical environment data, and includes a movable GPS monitoring station as well as the subjective thermal sensation of pedestrians via a devoted app. The cloud interface promptly elaborates the received data to calculate outdoor thermal comfort indices such as UTCI (Universal Thermal Climate Index), MRT (mean radiant temperature), and ET (effective temperature). The system is conceived for supporting both fixed and traveling measurements, and to support correlation studies between monitored environmental variables and personal comfort sensations to promote the local adaptation of comfort indices. Results from early testing are also reported.

High Resolution Spatio-Temporal Variability of Heat Wave Impacts Quantified by Thermal Comfort Indices

Heat waves are increasing in frequency and also exhibit high spatial variability in its distribution over India. There are limited studies focused on the weather related human thermal comfort over India due to non-availability of high resolution (HR) climate data. Here we develop dynamically downscaled HR (4x4 km) daily climate information for the months of April to June during 2001-2016 using a regional climate model called Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model, which are validated with station observations. The thermal comfort and its spatio-temporal variability over India are quantified in terms of indices like Excessive Heat Factor (EHF), Heat Index (HI), Humidex, Apparent Temperature (AT) and Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT). The daily surface air temperature and thermal comfort indices of HR WRF model simulations are in good agreement with station observations. The results show that there is an increasing trend in annual heat waves coverage (22240km2/year), annual frequency (0.07 days/year) and average intensity (0.04 °C/year) during 2001-2016. The distributions of indices have spatial and temporal variability. The days with severe discomfort are significantly increasing (99% significance level) over north India and it is quantified with increase of extreme category of indices at the rate of EHF (15.9%), HI (14.9%), Humidex (15.9%), AT (13.4%) and WBGT (13.8%). During heat waves, prolonged exposure or physical activity under sun will led to adverse health impacts and it is mostly observed over northwest and south eastern states. These findings stress the need for developing suitable mitigation strategies for a sustainable ecosystem

Measuring the effects of heated windows on thermal comfort

During the following research project, the effects of an electrically heated window on the thermal comfort parameters of permanently occupied spaces were examined. A thermal manikin and a Testo 400 comfort-meter were used for the tests. To characterize the space, the predicted mean vote and predicted percentage of dis-satisfied method was applied. The examination of the comfort indices took place in the vicinity of an electrically heated window glass. During the measurements the surface temperature of the glazing was changed, alongside the distance from the glazing at which the measuring instruments were set up. The project aimed to assess the results measured by the thermal manikin and assess the usability of heated window glazing, taking thermal comfort into account.