Adaptive Thermal Comfort for Occupants of Low-Cost Dwellings in a Hot Dry Climate

Abstract

Adaptive models are based on the observation that there are some actions that people can and actually do take to achieve thermal comfort. Studies regarding thermal comfort conditions in economical dwellings were carried out simultaneously in seven Mexican cities, corresponding to warm dry and warm humid climates. In this article, case studies of low-cost dwellings in the city of Hermosillo (in northwest Mexico), are presented and analyzed. Field surveys were carried out to obtain information about the physical characteristics of the dwellings and their occupants, as well as the indoor thermal environment. Neutral temperature was obtained from the applied survey. The high neutral temperature reveals the effect of inhabitants' adaptation mechanism to extreme climates. Occupant comfort votes as a function of indoor air temperatures were analyzed, and different characteristics such as age, size and gender were evaluated separately. The results show the variability of the neutral temperature and the tolerance to temperature changes, depending on the population's specific characteristics. In many cases where the population does not have access to artificial acclimatization devices, the neutral temperature values for specific climates and people can inform architects when choosing the most suitable thermal strategies for building design.