Abstract
Divergence in the acceptability to people in different regions of naturally ventilated thermal environments raises a concern over the extent to which the ASHRAE Standard 55 may be applied as a universal criterion of thermal comfort. In this study, the ASHRAE 55 adaptive model of thermal comfort was investigated for its applicability to a hot and humid climate through a long-term field survey performed in central Taiwan among local students attending 14 elementary and high schools during September to January. Adaptive behaviors, thermal neutrality, and thermal comfort zones are explored. A probit analysis of thermal acceptability responses from students was performed in place of the conventional linear regression of thermal sensation votes against operative temperature to investigate the limits of comfort zones for 90% and 80% acceptability; the corresponding comfort zones were found to occur at 20.1–28.4°C and 17.6–30.0°C, respectively. In comparison with the yearly comfort zones recommended by the adaptive model for naturally ventilated spaces in the ASHRAE Standard 55, those observed in this study differ in the lower limit for 80% acceptability, with the observed level being 1.7°C lower than the ASHRAE-recommended value. These findings can be generalized to the population of school children, thus providing information that can supplement ASHRAE Standard 55 in evaluating the thermal performance of naturally ventilated school buildings, particularly in hot-humid areas such as Taiwan.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andamon MM, Williamson TJ, Soebarto VI (2006) Perceptions and expectations of thermal comfort in the Philippines (http://nceub.org.uk/uploads/Paper_tjw.pdf)
ASHRAE (2004) ASHRAE Standard 55–2004: Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA
Cheng V, Ng E (2006) Comfort temperatures for naturally ventilated buildings in Hong Kong. Archit Sci Rev 49(2):179–182
Corgnati SP, Filippi M, Viazzo S (2007) Perception of the thermal environment in high school and university classrooms: subjective preferences and thermal comfort. Build Environ 42(2):951–959, doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2005.10.027
de Dear RJ, Brager GS (1998) Developing an adaptive model of thermal comfort and preference. ASHRAE Trans 104(1A):145–167
de Dear RJ, Brager GS (2002) Thermal comfort in naturally ventilated buildings: revisions to ASHRAE Standard 55. Energy Build 34(6):549–561, doi:10.1016/S0378-7788(02)00005-1
de Dear RJ, Fountain ME (1994) Field experiments on occupant comfort and office thermal environments in a hot-humid climate. ASHRAE Trans 100(2):457–474
Feriadi H, Wong NH (2004) Thermal comfort for naturally ventilated houses in Indonesia. Energy Build 36(7):614–626, doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2004.01.011
Han J, Zhang G, Zhang Q, Zhang J, Liu J, Tian L, Zheng C, Hao J, Lin J, Liu Y, Moschandreas DJ (2007) Field study on occupants’ thermal comfort and residential thermal environment in a hot-humid climate of China. Build Environ 42(12):4043–4050, doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.06.028
Heidari S, Sharples S (2001) A comparative analysis of short-term and long-term thermal comfort surveys in Iran, Moving thermal comfort standards into the 21st century. In: Proceedings of the International Conference Moving Thermal Comfort Standards into the 21st Century. Windsor, UK, pp 223–234
ISO (1998) International Standard 7726: Ergonomics of the thermal environment—instruments for measuring physical quantities. International Standards Organization, Geneva
ISO (2005) International Standard 7730: Moderate thermal environments—determination of the PMV and PPD indices and specification of the conditions for thermal comfort. International Standard Organization, Geneva
Kwok AG (1998) Thermal comfort in tropical classrooms. ASHRAE Trans 104(1B):1031–1047
Nicol JF, Raja IA, Allaudin A, Jamy GN (1999) Climatic variations in comfortable temperatures: the Pakistan projects. Energy Build 30(3):261–279, doi:10.1016/S0378-7788(99)00011-0
Rangsiraksa P (2006) Thermal Comfort in Bangkok Residential Buildings, Thailand. In: Proceedings of the 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture (PLEA2006), Geneva, 6–8 September 2006. International Society of Passive and Low Energy Architecture, pp 541–546
Wong NH, Khoo SS (2003) Thermal comfort in classrooms in the tropics. Energy Build 35(4):337–351, doi:10.1016/S0378-7788(02)00109-3
Zhang G, Zheng C, Yang W, Zhang Q, Moschandreas D (2007) Thermal comfort investigation of naturally ventilated classrooms in a subtropical region. Indoor Built Environ 16(2):148–158, doi:10.1177/1420326X06076792
Acknowledgment
We offer our sincere appreciation to the China Medical University for its assistance and support in grant under the project number CMU94-083.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hwang, RL., Lin, TP., Chen, CP. et al. Investigating the adaptive model of thermal comfort for naturally ventilated school buildings in Taiwan. Int J Biometeorol 53, 189–200 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-008-0203-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-008-0203-2