<b>Actual conditions of residents’ cooling behaviors related to visual and auditory sensation and estimation of their effect on energy saving in Japan </b>

Abstract

The article aims to investigate residents’ cooling behaviors and to examine the possibilities for reducing thermal discomfort, changing the duration of air-conditioner use, and reducing cooling load through behaviors influencing visual, auditory and other sensation. A questionnaire was administered in Kyoto, Japan during summer 2010. The results indicated that: (a) to cool down, many residents engage in daily cooling behaviors other than using air-conditioners, such as using rugs, sprinkling water, bamboo blinds, and having coolcolored interior elements. In addition, many of these behaviors were negatively correlated with the length of air-conditioner use; (b) cooling behaviors include acts to lower the temperature (e.g., sprinkling water and bamboo blinds) and acts to obtain non-heat-related cooling effects (e.g., using rugs, a cool-colored interior, scents with cooling effects, wind chimes, music with cooling effects); (c) a comparison between the simulated cooling load of four groups (categorized according to the use of bamboo blinds and a cool-colored interior) found that the cooling load of the group using both is about 10% lower than the group using neither.