scholarly journals Monitoring and Characterization of the Thermal Environment of Special-Use Buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-95
Author(s):  
Luis Octavio González-Salcedo ◽  
Francisco Adolfo Marmolejo-Villanueva ◽  
Diego Alexander Quiroz-Morán ◽  
Karen Andrea Ospina-Trujillo ◽  
Ricardo Malagón Manrique
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Temperature Behavior ◽  
Time Range ◽  
Indoor Temperature ◽  
Temperature Index ◽  
Animal Housing ◽  
Climatic Environment

One branch of civil engineering is construction engineering, geared primarily towards humans. However, this branch also includes buildings designed for animals called animal housing (dwellings or shelters or corrals). Like physical spaces for humans, animal housing requires sufficient conditions for an occupation that guarantees the performance of indoor activities pleasantly and comfortably. One of the parameters for characterizing and classifying the penned livestock farm environment is the thermal comfort range that reflects the indoor temperature behavior for animal welfare, together with other climatic elements such as relative humidity. This research carried out fieldwork to evaluate the thermal environment of pigpens located in Palmira, Colombia, in the time range between 07:00 and 21:00 hours. Using thermometers and hygrometers, we recorded and analyzed the indoor temperature behavior within the thermal comfort range associated with relative humidity for the well-being of pigs. The records made it possible to calculate humidity and temperature index and humidity and black globe temperature index. According to the results, the pig rearing environment was classified as critical for breeding pigs and newborn piglets, suggesting the use of controlled environment systems in pig facilities. In conclusion, monitoring the climatic environment by criteria that combine air temperature and relative humidity is a useful tool for planning pig facilities.

scholarly journals Assessment of indoor thermal environment of Aceh house based on WBGT index

2021 ◽  
Vol 881 (1) ◽  
pp. 012023
Author(s):  
Muslimsyah ◽  
A Munir ◽  
Y Away ◽  
Abdullah ◽  
K Huda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
Vernacular Architecture ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Cooling Process ◽  
Temperature Index ◽  
Indoor Thermal Environment ◽  
Temperature Ranges

Abstract Thermal comfort is one of the standard assessments of building thermal environment. Air movement is an important parameter for in a naturally ventilated to achieve thermal comfort by accelerating the evaporative cooling process on the human body. Aceh House has a standard of thermal comfort with a vernacular architecture with a natural ventilation system. This vernacular architectural building has a fairly high harmonization of the environment because it has undergone a process of adaptation. In this study, observations were made at the Original House (OH), the Adaptive Reuse House (ARH), and the Aceh Modified House (AMH). By using the method of assessing changes in environmental comfort, using Wet Bulb Temperature Index (WBGT) method, the minimum and maximum temperature ranges are 25°C and 30°C. In the WBGT thermal rating, AMH has the higher thermal and is followed by ARH and OH respectively. Thus, OH has lower thermal compared to other Aceh houses.

scholarly journals Vegetation and microclimate in open urban areas. Cuiabá, Mato Grosso - Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1089-1099
Author(s):  
Maria Corette Pasa ◽  
Lucas Henrique Vieira Lenci ◽  
Nhaára Da Vila Pereira ◽  
Rosenil Antonia de Oliveira Miranda
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Mato Grosso ◽  
Significant Difference

The influence of vegetation on the reduction of heat in open urban environments by providing a milder and more pleasant microclimate is highlighted in modern science. The objective of this study was to evaluate the trend of microclimatic variables and thermal comfort, in the Federal University of Mato Grosso - UFMT campus, in open spaces (forest fragment, cerrado and paved) with and without afforestation. Three collection points were selected in open spaces (wooded and without afforestation) at the UFMT campus in Cuiabá. To record the data, we used the Alloet Thermohigrometer mini-markers, model TA-318 with 0.1%. The collections took place in May of 2018, period that begins the local winter. The microclimatic variables such as air temperature, relative humidity (%), wind speed, ultraviolet index and chance of rain were analyzed daily from 09:00 to 17:00 for 15 days. The results highlight the importance of the shade provided by the tree vegetation in the forest fragment, which revealed a significant difference for the thermal comfort in relation to the other sample points and without afforestation. The microclimatic parameters present variations of the temperature and relative humidity of the air at the points allocated, with emphasis on the thermal comfort sensation for the wooded area. The research also suggests new scientific investments in studies on urban micro-climates as a way to stimulate and raise awareness of the importance of vegetation in thermal comfort, which can directly reflect the health and well-being of people in general. 

scholarly journals Thermal Environment of Urban Schoolyards: Current and Future Design with Respect to Children’s Thermal Comfort

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1144
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Antoniadis ◽  
Nikolaos Katsoulas ◽  
Dimitris Κ. Papanastasiou
Keyword(s):  
Heat Stress ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
High Surface ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort

Urban outdoor thermal conditions, and its impacts on the health and well-being for the city inhabitants have reached increased attention among biometeorological studies during the last two decades. Children are considered more sensitive and vulnerable to hot ambient conditions compared to adults, and are affected strongly by their thermal environment. One of the urban outdoor environments that children spend almost one third of their school time is the schoolyard. The aims of the present manuscript were to review studies conducted worldwide, in order to present the biophysical characteristics of the typical design of the urban schoolyard. This was done to assess, in terms of bioclimatology, the interactions between the thermal environment and the children’s body, to discuss the adverse effects of thermal environment on children, especially the case of heat stress, and to propose measures that could be applied to improve the thermal environment of schoolyards, focusing on vegetation. Human thermal comfort monitoring tools are mainly developed for adults, thus, further research is needed to adapt them to children. The schemes that are usually followed to design urban schoolyards create conditions that favour the exposure of children to excessive heat, inducing high health risks to them. The literature survey showed that typical urban schoolyard design (i.e., dense surface materials, absence of trees) triggered high surface temperatures (that may exceed 58 °C) and increased absorption of radiative heat load (that may exceed 64 °C in terms of Mean Radiant Temperature) during a clear day with intense solar radiation. Furthermore, vegetation cover has a positive impact on schoolyard’s microclimate, by improving thermal comfort and reducing heat stress perception of children. Design options for urban schoolyards and strategies that can mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress are proposed with focus on vegetation cover that affect positively their thermal environment and improve their aesthetic and functionality.

scholarly journals Thermal Personalities of Older People in South Australia: A Personas-Based Approach to Develop Thermal Comfort Guidelines

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (22) ◽  
pp. 8402
Author(s):  
Helen Bennetts ◽  
Larissa Arakawa Martins ◽  
Joost van Hoof ◽  
Veronica Soebarto
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Hierarchical Cluster ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Study Participants

An important consideration for future age-friendly cities is that older people are able to live in housing appropriate for their needs. While thermal comfort in the home is vital for the health and well-being of older people, there are currently few guidelines about how to achieve this. This study is part of a research project that aims to improve the thermal environment of housing for older Australians by investigating the thermal comfort of older people living independently in South Australia and developing thermal comfort guidelines for people ageing-in-place. This paper describes the approach fundamental for developing the guidelines, using data from the study participants’ and the concept of personas to develop a number of discrete “thermal personalities”. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was implemented to analyse the features of research participants, resulting in six distinct clusters. Quantitative and qualitative data from earlier stages of the project were then used to develop the thermal personalities of each cluster. The thermal personalities represent different approaches to achieving thermal comfort, taking into account a wide range of factors including personal characteristics, ideas, beliefs and knowledge, house type, and location. Basing the guidelines on thermal personalities highlights the heterogeneity of older people and the context-dependent nature of thermal comfort in the home and will make the guidelines more user-friendly and useful.

Urban heat risk assessment for pedestrians considering thermal environment and physiological change

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ara Kim ◽  
Gayoung Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Heart Rate ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Wind Velocity ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Rate Increase ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Heart Rate Increase ◽  
Urban Heat ◽  
Heat Risk

<p>As citizens face increasing heat risk due to climate change with urban heat island effect, heat risk assessments in urban have been conducted focusing on thermal diseases related to heatwave of vulnerable people. Although they provided a basis to establish adaptation strategies such as cooling centers, they could not consider citizens’ daily thermal comfort of diverse groups. Thermal comfort could be a part of heat risk because associated with work performance such as productive capacity as well as health. In particular, pedestrians’ thermal comfort can represent daily heat risk of outdoor urban environment. The past studies of pedestrians’ thermal comfort were evaluated using PMV (Predicted Mean Vote), an index based on temperature, wind velocity, relative humidity and a fixed number of metabolic rate depending on the subject’s activity level. The PMV ranges from -3 to +3 and higher value indicates higher discomfortable. Including metabolic factor, PMV did not actually consider an individuals’ physiological response (IPR) such as heart rate, skin temperature, etc. To overcome PMV’s limitation, IPR should be considered together with climatic factors when assessing pedestrians’ thermal comfort. Therefore, we aim to develop a new function of thermal comfort by incorporating PMV and IPR, especially heart rate, with validation using personal perception of thermal comfort based on survey. We selected a route of 500m length in Suwon, South Korea and 9 volunteer pedestrians walked the selected route 8 times at 2-4 pm. The walk experiment was repeated for 4 days. During the experiment, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind velocity were monitored using portable meteorological sensors. The real-time heart rate of each pedestrian was recorded using wearable sensor (Mi-band3). After every day walk, we asked each pedestrian 10 questions regarding satisfaction of thermal environment, perceived temperature, etc. The average value of PMV was 2.99 belonging to very discomfort category. Although heart rate increased with the length of exposure time to heat, the heart rate over time did not consistently increase with air temperature. It was probably because our temperature range (31.9℃- 35.2℃) during the experiment was not large enough and heart rate was influenced by other factors such as wind velocity. In the survey, 50% of volunteer pedestrians responded ‘discomfort’ and the others answered ‘slightly discomfort’. Comparing the survey (discomfort and slightly discomfort) with PMV (very discomfort), PMV generally overestimated. thermal comfort. We will categorize thermal comfort level according to heart rate increase between walking activity in outdoor and indoor. Here, the higher heart rate increase than average increase level indicates worse individual thermal comfort condition. This individual thermal comfort effect can modify the existing calculation of thermal comfort using air temperature, wind velocity, and humidity by adding modification factor of individual heart rate response (Ex. Thermal comfort=weighting factor(0.189*air temperature-0.775*wind velocity+0.195*relative humidity)). The final thermal comfort will be calculated based on the function and examined the precision of function through comparative analysis with the personal thermal perception of survey. As heart rate is an individual variable, we expect our function can be a tool evaluating the personalized heat risk.</p>

scholarly journals Models for Prediction of Daily Mean Indoor Temperature and Relative Humidity: Education Building in Izmir, Turkey

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 772-781 ◽  
Author(s):  
Türkan Göksal Özbalta ◽  
Alper Sezer ◽  
Yusuf Yıldız
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Mean Squared Error ◽  
System Size ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Ann Model ◽  
Data Logger ◽  
Indoor Temperature ◽  
Indoor Thermal Comfort ◽  
Comfort Parameters

In this research, several models were developed to forecast the daily mean indoor temperature (IT) and relative humidity values in an education building in Izmir, Turkey. The city is located at a hot–humid climatic region. In order to forecast the IT and internal relative humidity (IRH) parameters in the building, a number of artificial neural networks (ANN) models were trained and tested with a dataset including outdoor climatic conditions, day of year and indoor thermal comfort parameters. The indoor thermal comfort parameters, namely, IT and IRH values between 6 June and 21 September 2009 were collected via HOBO data logger. Fraction of variance ( R2) and root-mean squared error values calculated by the use of the outputs of different ANN architectures were compared. Moreover, several multiple regression models were developed to question their performance in comparison with those of ANNs. The results showed that an ANN model trained with inconsiderable amount of data was successful in the prediction of IT and IRH parameters in education buildings. It should be emphasized that this model can be benefited in the prediction of indoor thermal comfort conditions, energy requirements, and heating, ventilating and air conditioning system size.

Evaluation of Human Thermal Comfort Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiichi Watanuki ◽  
Lei Hou ◽  
Yuuki Kondou
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Indoor Temperature ◽  
Prefrontal Area ◽  
Human Thermal Comfort ◽  
Conditioning Control

Air-conditioning equipment is used in various places such as houses, office buildings, and public facilities and is indispensable in modern-day life. Therefore, the energy consumption of air-conditioning equipment accounts for a large percentage of the total energy consumption in the average household. Specifically, it accounts for 26% of the annual energy consumption in ordinary homes and 27% in industry, according to the Annual Energy Report for Japan, which was presented by the Ministry of the Economy, Trade, and Industry, and the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy in 2010. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce energy consumption by reducing the air-conditioning load. The Ministry of the Environment recommends a constant preset temperature of 28°C in summer to decrease energy consumption. However, many people feel uncomfortable in such a thermal environment. Thus, an air-conditioning control to simultaneously suppress energy consumption and maintain human thermal comfort is desired. To develop such a control, an index to accurately evaluate human thermal comfort is needed. When a person feels comfortable or uncomfortable, their prefrontal area, which is involved in thinking and the feeling of emotions, is activated. It is presumed that the measurement of the brain activation reaction of a person will reveal whether the person feels comfortable or uncomfortable in the thermal environment. The evaluation of thermal comfort by means of brain activation reactions will allow one to develop the optimum air-conditioning control to maintain human thermal comfort. This paper proposes a method to evaluate thermal comfort via brain signals and ultimately aims to develop an air-conditioning control system utilizing this evaluation method. This paper will describe the measurement procedure of brain activation reactions to indoor-temperature change by using near-infrared spectroscopy and the relationship between thermal comfort and brain activation reaction. This study also investigated the changes in oxyHb levels together with indoor-temperature changes, measured with the NIRS. We measured the changes in the oxyHb levels of the prefrontal area when the temperature increased and decreased. As a result, the oxyHb level in the prefrontal area correlated with the indoor-temperature change, the PMV, and the subjects’ declaration of thermal sensation. Conversely, the change in the oxyHb level with the inclusion of wind and a constant indoor temperature significantly differed with that with a varying indoor temperature. Furthermore, the oxyHb change correlated with the PMV and the subject’s declaration of thermal sensation. Therefore, the measured oxyHb change may represent the thermal comfort of a person.

scholarly journals Assessment of Thermal Comfort in the Intelligent Buildings in View of Providing High Quality Indoor Environment

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1973
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Majewski ◽  
Łukasz J. Orman ◽  
Marek Telejko ◽  
Norbert Radek ◽  
Jacek Pietraszek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Indoor Environment ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Concentration ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Environment Quality ◽  
Intelligent Buildings ◽  
Indoor Environment Quality ◽  
Very High

The paper analyses the indoor environment in two modern intelligent buildings located in Poland. Measurements of air and globe temperatures, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration in 117 rooms carried out in the space of 1.5 years were presented. Thermal comfort of the occupants has been investigated using a questionnaire survey. Based on 1369 questionnaires, thermal sensation, acceptability and preference votes were analysed in view of their interdependency as well as their dependency on operative temperature, which proved to be very strong. It has been found that the respondents did not completely rate thermal comfort and indoor environment quality as very high, although the overwhelming sensations were positive. Apart from the operation of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, this might have also been the cause of individual human factors, such as body mass index, as tested in the study, or the finding that people were generally in favour of a warmer environment. Moreover, thermal environment proved to be the most important element for ensuring the well-being of the occupants.

Indoor Thermal Environment and Energy Conservation of Seaside Resident Building in Xiamen in Summer

2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 4461-4465
Author(s):  
Li Li
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Natural Ventilation ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Residential Buildings ◽  
Influence Factors ◽  
Residential Building ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Indoor Thermal Environment ◽  
Ventilation Condition

The good and comfortable environment is beneficial to the health, and can improve working efficiency, make people imbued with more creativity. This means strengthening the competitiveness, increase economic efficiency. So, creating the good building environment not merely has a meaning on technology, and has social effect and economic meaning. In order to understand the situation of indoor thermal environment of the seaside residential building generally, a field measurement on the condition of summer was made in Xiamen from the last ten days of July to the first ten day of Aug, 2005, 2006 and 2008. Test the thermal environment and investigate the thermal comfort in residential buildings of natural ventilation condition, analyze the main influence factors of indoor thermal environment, and evaluate indoor thermal comfort with effective temperature (ET). The curves of indoor air temperature and relative humidity reflect the character of high temperature and high relative humidity in summer in Xiamen residential buildings. Discuss the methods of building energy saving. Suggest that, for seaside city in hot days, the natural ventilation and interval natural ventilation should be the main fundamental methods of improving the resident building thermal environment.

scholarly journals Efecto de la temperatura de bulbo seco y humedad relativa en la sensación térmica percibida en espacios exteriores en clima cálido seco

2020 ◽  
pp. 21-29
Author(s):  
Gonzalo Bojórquez-Morales ◽  
Aníbal Luna-León ◽  
Ramona Romero-Moreno ◽  
Verónica Jiménez-López
Keyword(s):  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Thermal Environment ◽  
Thermal Sensation ◽  
Warm Period ◽  
Cold Period ◽  
Adaptation Level ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Critical Effect ◽  
Outdoor Spaces

Conditions of the thermal environment in outdoor spaces determine not only its quality, but also the risk of morbidity from remaining in it. The objective of this research was to estimate the effect of dry bulb temperature and relative humidity on the perceived thermal sensation in outdoor spaces in hot dry climate. The thermal comfort adaptation approach was used with the thermal sensation interval means method, the analysis considered three activity levels for the warm period (with 823 observations) and cold period (with 863 observations), and the adaptation level of subjects based on their thermal sensation. The results indicate that even when the critical effect is due to the dry bulb temperature, the relative humidity has an important effect on the perceived sensation.

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