Abstract
One of the crucial factors for the presence of more people outdoors is to create comfortable conditions. This issue is significant for the elderly due to the different physical conditions. The purpose of this study is to improve the micro-climatic condition around residential complexes considering the elderly in a linear type. For this purpose, two physical indicators, the ratio of the height of buildings to their distance from each other (H/D) and the orientation of them towards the street, were investigated. Regarding H/D, ratios of 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2, and about the orientation factor, angles of 135° to 200° were examined. This study was conducted outdoors around residential complexes in Iran, Tabriz, with a cold semi-arid climate. Envi-met software model 4.4.5 was used for the simulation. The days June 22 and December 22, 2020 were selected as one of the hottest and coldest day of the year. Two indexes of the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) were examined as essential thermal comfort indexes. Also, for validation, local and field data in six days (21, 22, 23 June in summer and 21, 22, 23 December in winter) were extracted and compared with the data of the software. The results display, the ratio of H/D=1.5 and the angles of 135° and 145° were the most suitable comfort conditions.
Highlights
Global warming, increasing population, and urban density highlight the importance of paying attention to the impact of buildings design on outdoor thermal comfort
This study investigated the thermal comfort conditions in the outdoor space around buildings with a linear pattern in cold semi-arid climates considering the elderly
The results show that in summer, with increasing the H/D ratio, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) index decreases
Summary
Global warming, increasing population, and urban density highlight the importance of paying attention to the impact of buildings design on outdoor thermal comfort. Galal et al [8] have studied different urban forms and H/D ratios of buildings and their impact on thermal comfort conditions in the new city of Aswan. Several researches have been conducted regarding the effect of the shape, H/D ratio, and orientation of buildings on thermal comfort in the outdoors, and some of them have been considered different age groups, such as the elderly. Most of these studies have been conducted in the hot dry or humid climate areas. This research has been done around one of the residential buildings in Tabriz city (Iran) with cold semi-arid in one of the coldest and hottest days of the year
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