Combined effects of the thermal-acoustic environment on subjective evaluations in outdoor public spaces

Abstract

• We explore the change characteristics of human comfort in the outdoor thermal-acoustic environment. • Acoustic environment and thermal environment are both important factors affecting the subjective comfort. • The thermal environment has a greater impact on human comfort than the acoustic environment. • There are seasonal differences in the degree of acoustic and thermal comfort affecting each other. The public space environment is a complex and comprehensive system composed of multiple factors that are interconnected and can both promote and restrict each other. Thermal environment and acoustic environment are the main factors that affect the overall comfort of urban open spaces. Therefore, this study selects a university campus as a research location for an outdoor public space to explore the change characteristics of human comfort in the thermal-acoustic environment with the object of providing a reference for improving the comfort of the outdoor public space environment. The study results show that the effects of thermal-acoustic environment on the subjective comfort are quite different in autumn and winter; the acoustic environment has a greater impact on subjective comfort in high and low temperature environments, while the effect of acoustic environment on subjective comfort in a thermally neutral environment is not obvious; the overall comfort evaluation is the highest in a 60–70 dB(A) acoustic environment, and an excessively noisy or quiet acoustic environment increases the discomfort; both the acoustic environment and the thermal environment are important factors affecting the subjective comfort of the human body, but the thermal environment is more important than the acoustic environment.