Assessment of human thermal comfort perception in a non-air-conditioned school building in Athens, Greece

Abstract

The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) indices are used to assess the indoor environment in terms of human thermal comfort-discomfort. In this study, an experimental combined objective and subjective investigation of thermal comfort perception has been performed in students between 16-18 years old, in a non-air-conditioned school building in Gerakas municipality within the urban greater Athens area. The objective approach included instrumentation measurements and data processing according to ISO 7730, whereas, the subjective one was based on answers collection following ISO 10551. The study is mainly devoted to the verification of Fanger’s approach in a building, in free running conditions, under a mild (moderate) climate. The comparison between instrumentation data and questionnaire results presented an underestimation of the mean vote, predicting a cooler sensation than the actual one. Finally, the knowledge of human thermal perception indoors is a first approach in order to control the energy demands/savings as well as the emissions of a building complex having impact in urban microclimate and urban air quality.