Abstract
This study presents the evaluation of the performance and acceptability of thermal comfort by students in the classrooms of a university building with minisplit-type air-conditioning systems, in a tropical climate. To carry out the study, temperature and humidity measurements were recorded, both outside and inside the selected classrooms, while the students were asked to complete thermal surveys on site. The survey model is based on the template proposed by Fanger and it was applied to a total number of 584 students. In each classroom, the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) were estimated according to Fanger’s methodology, as well as the Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) and the Actual Percentage Dissatisfied (APD), which were obtained from the measurements and the surveys. The results of this study showed that the PMV values, although they may vary with the insulation of the clothing, do not affect the TSV. Furthermore, comparing PMV vs. TSV scores, a 2 °C to 3 °C difference in operating temperature was found, whereby the thermal sensitivity for TSV was colder, so it could be assumed that the PMV model overestimates the thermal sensitivity of students in low-temperature conditions. In addition, an acceptability by 90% with thermal preferences between 23 °C and 24 °C were also found. These results indicate that it is possible to increase the temperature set point in minisplit-type air-conditioning system from 4 °C to 7 °C with respect to the currently set temperatures, without affecting the acceptability of the thermal environment to the students in the building.
Highlights
A suitable thermal environment for classrooms in colleges and universities impacts thermal comfort, learning performance, and the building energy consumption
This study presents the evaluation of the performance and acceptability of thermal comfort by students in the classrooms of a university building with minisplit-type air-conditioning systems, in a tropical climate
The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) were estimated according to Fanger’s methodology, as well as the Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV) and the Actual Percentage Dissatisfied (APD), which were obtained from the measurements and the surveys
Summary
A suitable thermal environment for classrooms in colleges and universities impacts thermal comfort, learning performance, and the building energy consumption. In order to study the thermal comfort in enclosures, Fanger proposed a heat balance model that allows predicting the acceptability of the occupants of a building for a given thermal environment [21] In this case, the model proposed by Fanger leads to the definition of the well-known Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Predicted Percent Dissatisfied (PPD), combining thermal environmental variables, activity, and insulation of the clothing, which were first incorporated into the international ISO Standard in 1984 [22]. The present work is part of a research project at the University de la Costa, which is concerned with the study of the perception and acceptability of thermal comfort among students in classrooms, in order to seek an improvement in air quality and energy efficiency indices in university buildings of the Caribbean region of Colombia. An analysis of the reference parameters, such as the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Thermal Sensation Vote (TSV), as well as the theoretical (PPD) and actual/measured (APD) dissatisfaction percentages, are presented
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