•Reviewing thermal comfort models in different aspects.•Analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of all the models in the review.•Interpreting the importance of the models in different ...environments.•Suggesting some future developing directions of thermal comfort models.
In the past several years, thermal comfort, especially development and application of thermal comfort model, has been a research focus of building environment. Since the 1970s, a series of thermal comfort models based on people's thermal sensation to environment have been established, and gradually became an important part of the field of thermal comfort research. In this review, the existing thermal comfort models are summarized from various perspectives, such as models applied in different environments like sleeping environment and outdoor environment. Besides, models used for different groups people, such as elderly and different races are discussed. In the part, adaptive models are mentioned. In additions, data-driven models were reviewed. This paper introduced the advantages and disadvantages of each model. Based on the above review, future research work of thermal comfort model is proposed.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ
Thermal comfort markedly impacts our health, well-being and work productivity. This article is a review of practices generally adopted to quantify human thermal comfort in buildings. The review ...indicates that there is significant variation in comfort requirements due to diversified socio-cultural set-up and local adaptive behaviour. Thus, the localised thermal comfort models need to be developed to identify the actual comfort requirements helpful in drafting new local comfort standards. The study justifying the relationship between thermal comfort and indoor air quality are scant and need to be explored as such relationships are greatly dependent on occupant's adaptive behaviour. Further, the interdisciplinary research on thermal comfort which not only helps in real-time assessment but also covers other critical aspects like building architecture and energy consumption is lacking in the literature. Moreover, this review paves way for research on thermal comfort in countries where high building stock is expected in future.
Full text
Available for:
BFBNIB, GIS, IJS, KISLJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
In environments with similar physical parameters, thermal comfort and sensation feelings may differ indoors and outdoors. How indoor and outdoor thermal perception differ from each other remains ...unclear. This study compared and discussed 29,536 field survey data, including 19,191 sets of indoor data, and 10,345 sets of outdoor data, covering five Köppen climate zones during transitional seasons and summer. Indoor data points were collected from two databases: the ASHRAE Global Thermal Comfort II and the SCATs (Smart Controls and Thermal Comfort), while outdoor data points were collected from the RUROS database (Rediscovering the Urban Realm and Open Spaces) and five individual projects executed in Singapore, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Changsha, and Tianjin. The concepts of neutral rate (NR) and comfort rate (CR) were developed to help categorize “neutral” and “comfort” across different studies. The results of this study show that people are less sensitive to changes in thermal environment outdoors than indoors. Moreover, thermal comfort cannot be simply treated as thermal neutral, particularly for outdoor spaces. Compared with MM (mixed-mode) and NV (naturally ventilated) spaces, outdoor space does not have the highest NR, but its CR is much higher, with a wide range of SET* (Standard Effective Temperature) corresponding to CR over 80 %, from 15.5 °C to 23.4 °C. In the Cfa (humid subtropical) climate zone, significantly higher CR are recorded for outdoor spaces, although the NR are similar or even lower than those of indoors. Natural thermal resources in the outdoor thermal environment may hold the key to extending indoor comfort ranges.
Display omitted
•People are less sensitive to changes in thermal environment outdoors than indoors.•Outdoor spaces have a lower neutral rate than mixed-mode and naturally-ventilated spaces.•Outdoors have a broader range of thermal parameters in the neutral zone than indoors.•Thermal comfort is easier to be achieved outdoors than indoors.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ
This paper examines the outdoor thermal comfort in the Mediterranean area. A transversal field survey has been conducted in Rome and, during an entire year, over 1000 questionnaires were filled and ...combined with micrometeorological measurements. In the first part of the questionnaire, the interviewees answered to personal questions, whereas in the second they evaluated their thermal perception and preference through the ASHRAE 7-point scale and the McIntyre scale respectively. Regression lines were obtained by elaborating the thermal perception votes and determining a PET (Physiological Equivalent Temperature) value for each questionnaire. These regression lines gave the possibility to calculate the neutral PET values: 26.9 °C for the hot season and 24.9 °C for the cold one. Differently, the votes concerning the thermal preference were related to the corresponding PET values through a logistic curve model with the probit function: for the hot season a preferred PET value of 24.8 °C was calculated, whereas for the cold season 22.5 °C. This shows the influence of thermal adaptation. Then since the thermal comfort interval should correspond to the range −0.5÷0.5 of the ASHRAE 7-point scale, a PET comfort range of 21.1÷29.2 °C was obtained. Finally two indexes were determined: the first, called MOCI (Mediterranean Outdoor Comfort Index), is based on the ASHRAE 7-point scale and predicts the mean value of the votes Mediterranean people might give to judge the thermal qualities of an environment; the second is the adaptation of the PPD (Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied) relation to the Mediterranean population.
•A transversal field survey (over 1000 questionnaires) was performed during a whole year.•The neutral PET values are 26.9 and 24.9 °C respectively for hot and cool seasons.•The preferred PET values are 24.8 and 22.5 °C respectively for hot and cool seasons.•The PET comfort range is defined as being 21.1÷29.2 °C.•A new empirical index (MOCI) is proposed and the PPD relation readapted.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
This article reviews the literature on the Indoor Environment Quality of a built environment. Thermal comfort is a complex concern and the methods studied so far are only approximate. The first part ...of this review deals with the general description of the topic. This was followed by the classification of the literature published in the last fifty years based on the year of publication, methodologies adopted and comfort parameters studied. The main focus remained on a notable number of articles from recent years. In the following sections, the different factors responsible for the IEQ and its effects on the well-being and thermal comfort of the occupants are discussed. The next part deals with the evaluation of thermal comfort using various models and indices of thermal comfort described by the various literature. A range of IEQ-related issues, such as sick body syndrome, cold drafts, hot, and cold radiation are discussed. This study reviews the literature that signifies the importance of IEQ and factors that affect human thermal comfort. It documents how physical, psychological, personal, and environmental factors affect human thermal comfort, and efforts have been made to simplify a rather complex relationship between comfort parameters, occupant well-being, and IEQ. The study would be useful for designers, engineers, and researchers undertaking studies in this area.
•Reviewing Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) parameters in different aspects and their importance.•Current procedures to assess indoor thermal comfort at present and limitations.•Discrepancy and importance of various thermal comfort assessment models.•The numerical simulation is mostly used for thermal comfort study, while field experiment is primarily for indoor environment quality which need more attentions.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Nursing homes are designed and operated to meet general thermal specifications outlined by existing standards. This paper presents adaptive thermal comfort models for nursing homes based on the field ...survey administered in 100 common rooms of five nursing homes in the Mediterranean climate. The survey included simultaneous measurements of outdoor and indoor environmental parameters and an assessment of the occupants’ thermal comfort sensations using questionnaires. In total, 1,921 subjective questionnaires were obtained. The analysis focused on: Building Operation Mode (naturally ventilated and air-conditioned mode (cooling and heating)); and type of occupant (residents and non-residents (caregivers and therapists)). In naturally ventilated rooms residents were found to be more adaptive than what EN and ASHRAE 55:2020 standards propose (Tc (naturally ventilated) = 0.26 Trm + 18.83 (R2 = 0.81)). Residents in air-conditioned rooms were found to be less sensitive to outdoor conditions (Tc (air-conditioned) = 0.16Trm + 20.41 (R2 = 0,91)) than in naturally ventilated rooms. Both adaptive thermal models fall in limits set by these standards but in the lower acceptable levels. These adaptive thermal comfort models for nursing homes will allow extending the use of natural ventilation and the adoption of setpoint temperatures when air-conditioning is needed with the consequent reduction of heating and cooling use.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ
Thermal comfort is an important factor for the design of buildings. Although it has been well recognized that many physiological parameters are linked to the state of thermal comfort or discomfort of ...humans, how to use physiological signal to judge the state of thermal comfort has not been well studied. In this paper, the feasibility of continuously determining feelings of personal thermal comfort was discussed by using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals in private space. In the study, 22 subjects were exposed to thermally comfortable and uncomfortably hot environments, and their EEG signals were recorded. Spectral power features of the EEG signals were extracted, and an ensemble learning method using linear discriminant analysis or support vector machine as a sub‐classifier was used to build the discriminant model. The results show that an average discriminate accuracy of 87.9% can be obtained within a detection window of 60 seconds. This study indicates that it is feasible to distinguish whether a person feels comfortable or too hot in their private space by multi‐channel EEG signals without interruption and suggests possibility for further applications in neuroergonomics.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, FZAB, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
A personal comfort model is a new approach to thermal comfort modeling that predicts an individual's thermal comfort response, instead of the average response of a large population. It leverages the ...Internet of Things and machine learning to learn individuals' comfort requirements directly from the data collected in their everyday environment. Its results could be aggregated to predict comfort of a population. To provide guidance on future efforts in this emerging research area, this paper presents a unified framework for personal comfort models. We first define the problem by providing a brief discussion of existing thermal comfort models and their limitations for real-world applications, and then review the current state of research on personal comfort models including a summary of key advances and gaps. We then describe a modeling framework to establish fundamental concepts and methodologies for developing and evaluating personal comfort models, followed by a discussion of how such models can be integrated into indoor environmental controls. Lastly, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for applications of personal comfort models for building design, control, standards, and future research.
•Framework for personal comfort models to predict individuals' thermal comfort.•Literature review on personal comfort models.•Methodologies that leverage the Internet of Things and machine learning.•System architecture for integrating personal comfort models in indoor environmental controls.•Challenges and opportunities for model applications in design, control, standards, and future research.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Researchers have conducted extensive research on the thermal environments of rural houses worldwide. The greatest number of studies on thermal comfort in rural areas have been conducted in China. ...However, no studies have reviewed or summarised the literature. This paper summarises the literature from three perspectives: climate zones, thermal comfort approach, and other factors (wind speed, humidity, and building construction) that influence thermal comfort. The research commenced by categorising and examining all relevant papers based on climatic comfort and thermal comfort approaches to find commonalities and differences. The limits of existing thermal comfort standards were then inspected. Finally, suggestions for further research on rural thermal comfort were provided. Our conclusion was that thermal comfort temperature is influenced by various factors. Further research on the thermal comfort of older adults is required, especially in rural areas. The Adaptive Thermal Comfort model was more suitable for rural housing than the Rational Thermal Comfort model. Large-scale studies on thermal comfort in rural houses are required to establish specific thermal comfort standards. Wind speed and humidity are two aspects that require further research in rural thermal comfort.
Display omitted
•This is the first paper that examines past research on thermal comfort field investigation in rural houses.•Summarising the thermally neutral temperature and thermal comfortable temperatures of rural residents across different in China.•Comparing the results of applying different thermal comfort approaches to rural dwellings.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
Urban residents suffer more from heat stress, compared to people living in rural areas, due to the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Mitigation of UHI is thus essential to improving human thermal ...comfort and living environment in urban residential areas. However, little attention has been paid to the integrated effect of UHI mitigation strategies on human thermal comfort, which is influenced by the combination of temperature, humidity, wind, and radiation. This study evaluates the effectiveness of two promising UHI mitigation strategies, cool and green roofs, in improving human thermal comfort during a heatwave in Berlin. Human thermal comfort is represented by the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), calculated by combining the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with the Urban Canopy Model (WRF/UCM) with the RayMan model. The results show that cool roofs outperform green roofs in reducing urban temperatures, especially at night. Besides temperature reduction, both strategies show lower wind speed, lower mean radiant temperature, and higher relative humidity. These combined effects lead to a city-scale decrease in UTCI. Cool roofs reduce more UTCI than green roofs, although they both shorten the duration of strong heat stress from 7 h d−1 to 5 h d−1. A higher albedo and irrigation can strengthen the cooling effect of cool and green roofs, respectively. Our study can deepen the understanding of the mechanism of natural infrastructure in improving human thermal comfort, providing scientific guidance for future city management.
•We evaluated the effectiveness of cool and green roofs in improving human thermal comfort during a heatwave in Berlin.•Cool roofs outperform green roofs in mitigating urban heat island and improving human thermal comfort.•Both strategies shorten the duration of strong heat stress from 7 h d−1 to 5 h d−1.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
PDF
