Thermal comfort and occupant adaptive behaviour in Japanese university buildings with free running and cooling mode offices during summer

Abstract Thermal comfort is one of the most important factors for satisfying occupants within indoor environments, especially in regions that experience warm summer seasons, and analyses of thermal comfort and occupant behaviour are critical for the effective implementation of energy saving programs. This paper presents the results of studies on the thermal comfort and adaptive behaviour of occupants in university buildings with free running (FR) and cooling (CL) mode offices in Fukuoka, Japan. Both thermal measurements and thermal comfort surveys were conducted during the summer season. The mean thermal sensation vote (TSV) in FR and CL modes was 0.7 and −0.1, respectively. These data show that occupants in FR mode offices felt slightly warmer than those in CL mode offices, where occupants typically reported feeling neutral. The mean comfort temperature for both cases, as estimated by using the Griffiths method, was 26.6 °C. For personal clothing, we found that the use of clothing insulation was inversely proportional to the outdoor temperature. The adaptive behaviours of occupants were found to be more active in FR mode offices compared to those in CL mode offices, which were more passive. This indicates that amenable thermal conditions were present in the air conditioning (A/C)-controlled indoor environments where occupants expressed no wish to make changes.

[1]  Baizhan Li,et al.  Occupants' adaptive responses and perception of thermal environment in naturally conditioned university classrooms , 2010 .

[2]  Ruey Lung Hwang,et al.  Field experiments on thermal comfort in campus classrooms in Taiwan , 2006 .

[3]  K. Parsons.  The effects of gender, acclimation state, the opportunity to adjust clothing and physical disability on requirements for thermal comfort , 2002 .

[4]  Mohamed Sukri Mat Ali,et al.  Thermal comfort survey in office buildings in Bandung, Indonesia , 2015 .

[5]  H. Rijal,et al.  Thermal comfort in offices in India: Behavioral adaptation and the effect of age and gender , 2015 .

[6]  Hom B. Rijal,et al.  Adaptive Thermal Comfort in Japanese Houses during the Summer Season: Behavioral Adaptation and the Effect of Humidity , 2015 .

[7]  Bjarne W. Olesen,et al.  Introduction to thermal comfort standards and to the proposed new version of EN ISO 7730 , 2002 .

[8]  Mitja Mazej,et al.  Thermal comfort: research and practice. , 2010, Frontiers in bioscience.

[9]  Madhavi Indraganti,et al.  Thermal comfort in apartments in India: Adaptive use of environmental controls and hindrances , 2011 .

[10]  Christhina Candido,et al.  Adaptive thermal comfort in Australian school classrooms , 2015 .

[11]  Gail Brager,et al.  Developing an adaptive model of thermal comfort and preference , 1998 .

[12]  Nyuk Hien Wong,et al.  Adaptive behaviour and thermal comfort in Singapore's naturally ventilated housing , 2003 .

[13]  Stefano Schiavon,et al.  Dynamic predictive clothing insulation models based on outdoor air and indoor operative temperatures , 2013 .

[14]  Richard de Dear,et al.  Mixed-mode buildings: A double standard in occupants’ comfort expectations , 2012 .

[15]  Tri Harso Karyono,et al.  Report on thermal comfort and building energy studies in Jakarta—Indonesia , 2000 .

[16]  Hom B. Rijal,et al.  Investigation of comfort temperature, adaptive model and the window-opening behaviour in Japanese houses , 2013 .

[17]  Sami Karjalainen,et al.  Thermal comfort and use of thermostats in Finnish homes and offices , 2009 .

[18]  Shufeng Sun,et al.  Conditioning strategies of indoor thermal environment in warm climates , 2004 .

[19]  F. Nicol.  Adaptive thermal comfort standards in the hot–humid tropics , 2004 .

[20]  羽田 正沖.  Workplace productivity and environmental impacts of Cool Biz office , 2010 .

[21]  A Auliciems,et al.  Towards a psycho-physiological model of thermal perception , 1981, International journal of biometeorology.

[22]  Ryozo Ooka,et al.  Field investigation of comfort temperature in Indian office buildings: A case of Chennai and Hyderabad , 2013 .

[23]  S. Tanabe,et al.  Thermal comfort and productivity in offices under mandatory electricity savings after the Great East Japan earthquake , 2012 .

[24]  Susan Roaf,et al.  Pioneering new indoor temperature standards: the Pakistan project , 1996 .

[25]  Hiroshi Yoshino,et al.  Long-term field survey on thermal adaptation in office buildings in Japan , 2007 .

[26]  Michael A. Humphreys,et al.  Updating the adaptive relation between climate and comfort indoors; new insights and an extended database , 2013 .

[27]  Shinichi Tanabe,et al.  Workers' awareness and indoor environmental quality in electricity-saving offices , 2015 .

[28]  Robert J. Nicholls,et al.  Climate: observations, projections and impacts , 2011 .

[29]  Pekka Tuomaala,et al.  Impact Of Individual Characteristics – Such As Age, Gender, Bmi, And Fitness – On Human Thermal Sensation , 2013, Building Simulation Conference Proceedings.

[30]  Ryozo Ooka,et al.  Thermal comfort in offices in summer: Findings from a field study under the ‘setsuden’ conditions in Tokyo, Japan , 2013 .

[31]  Salim Newaz Kazi,et al.  Adaptive Thermal Comfort Model for Air-Conditioned Lecture Halls in Malaysia , 2015 .

[32]  K. Cena,et al.  Thermal comfort and behavioural strategies in office buildings located in a hot-arid climate , 2001 .

[33]  Michael A. Humphreys,et al.  Field Studies of Indoor Thermal Comfort and the Progress of the Adaptive Approach , 2007 .

[34]  Tzu-Ping Lin,et al.  Thermal perceptions, general adaptation methods and occupant's idea about the trade-off between thermal comfort and energy saving in hot–humid regions , 2009 .

[35]  T. C. Steemers,et al.  Solar energy applications to buildings and solar radiation data : proceedings of the EC Contractors' Meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, 13 and 14 November 1986 , 1987 .

[36]  A. K. Mishra,et al.  Field studies on human thermal comfort — An overview , 2013 .