A review on thermal comfort assessment factors for industrialised building system (IBS) residences

Abstract

A field study has been carried out in non-air-conditioned residences for Industrial Building System (IBS). The objectives of this study are to analyze and evaluate the effect of the indoor thermal environment on occupants’ thermal comfort, to know the material of thermal insulation for foam and block system in IBS construction and to compare the value of thermal comfort between IBS and conventional construction. The field study focus in IBS building in northern city (Kedah and Perlis) of Malaysia. The hot-humid indoor climates of the surveyed buildings have been described and analyzed in terms of air temperature, globe temperature, relative humidity and wind velocity. The clothing insulation ensemble and metabolic rate of the occupants were also characterized. The purpose is to assess the comfort temperature in residential IBS buildings in the hot-humid tropics. Multiple and stepwise regressions were applied for the selection of the independent variable for neutral temperature prediction. Air temperature was chosen as an index for the indoor thermal comfort. The comfort temperature was determined using various approaches. The predicted temperature was found to be nearly 30°C regardless of the adopted approach. The negligence of climatic design approach in residential building design could lead to uncomfortable indoor thermal conditions and affect the residents productivity, health and quality of life. A theoretical adaptive model based on the thermal comfort is adaptive Predicted Mean Vote (aPMV) using the “black box” theory will be used. The results of this study provide a comparison between subjective assessments and objective measurements that demonstrate the high tolerance of local respondents to the environmental temperature of the environment. Individuals with climate and environment are required to produce a quality in daily life and the thermal comfort level assessment from previous researchers also discussed. This study outcomes can also be used as an enhancement to thermal comforts to those involved in the construction of houses or IBS concepts “foam” and blocks. The government and non-governmental bodies involved are Public Work Department (PWD), State Government, Local Authorities, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and contractor parties.