Field experiments on thermal comfort in university dormitories in Chongqing,China

A field study on thermal comfort was conducted in university dormitories in Chongqing,China,which was transverse with monthly from August 2008 to April 2009. A total of 1 572 returned questionnaires were collected. Thermal comfort variables were measured,at the same time students answered a survey on their indoor climate sensation. The thermal environment parameters,i.e.,indoor air temperature,air relative humidity,air velocity and outdoor air temperature were measured. The subjective survey investigated thermal sensation and preference using subjective scales. Objective data analysis shows that the indoor environments in university dormitories in Chongqing cannot meet 80% acceptability criteria prescribed by ASHRAE Standard 55. The ranges of accepted temperature are 21.5?28.5 ℃ in summer and 14.1?23.4 ℃ in winter. The preferred temperature is 22.8 ℃. It is observed that during summer season people prefer somewhat cooler condition than neutral,but in the winter season people prefer somewhat warmer condition than neutral. The relationship between air movement preference and thermal sensation indicates that even without a cooling requirement related to thermal comfort,people appear to welcome air movement.