Investigation of PMV Model for Evaluation of the Outdoor Thermal Comfort

Abstract

Urban microclimatic conditions affect human body energy balance and individuals’ thermal perception. Therefore, it is necessary to find an appropriate index to evaluation of outdoor space. Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) always use for evaluation of outdoor thermal environments. However, PMV model was developed based on the indoor chamber experimental data. Therefore, there is a need to compare in detail based on the outdoor survey data. A field survey has been conducted in Guangzhou this summer. The results show that there is a strong linear relationship between the PMV and operative temperature. However, the relationship between the TSV and operative temperature is not clear. At the lower operative temperature range of, 28 -36 °C, TSV increases with rising of operative temperature. When operative temperature is higher than 36 °C, TSV concentrates on the range of 2.5 – 4.0. In addition, the difference between PMV and TSV is not significant at the range of 28 – 34 °C. At the higher operative temperature, the prediction of PMV is not corrective. Based on the statistics, the adaptive thermal comfort model is developed, which is validated by the survey data with a small error.