Establishing Indoor Comfort Temperature (Neutral Temperature) in Naturally Ventilated (NV) Office Buildings in Jos, Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of the research is to grant understanding to the concept of thermal sensation, acclimatization and by extension establishing Neutral Temperature for office users. The Neutral Temperature is the indoor temperature in which an average office occupant feels comfortable without the aid of mechanical ventilation. Ten (10) naturally ventilated (NV) office buildings were randomly selected within Jos urban conurbation in northern Nigeria. Using research techniques established by Han et al (2007), Wang (2006) and Becker et al (2002) which are adaptive in nature, the research established a Neutral Temperature of 29.4 o C for the occupants of these building types. This Neutral Temperature is 4.34 o C higher than that established by Ogbonna & Harris 2007 in similar locality i.e northern Nigeria. It is also 0.31 o C higher than that executed in a warm humid climate of southern Nigeria (Adebamowo, 2007). It should be noted here that the aforementioned researches were conducted for residential buildings where factors such as activity level, adaptation, level of clothing of respondents and ambient weather differed. The research recommends further studies using similar methodology but in varying seasons and geographical locations. This is to establish further credence to indoor thermal comfort studies using the adaptive method. Keywords: Neutral Temperature, Acclimatization, Thermal Sensation, Adaptive Model, Productivity, Sustainability. DOI: 10.7176/JETP/10-3-05 Publication date: July 31 st 2020