Regression forecasting of ‘neutral’ adaptive thermal comfort: A field study investigation in the south-eastern Mediterranean climate of Cyprus

Abstract

Numerous field studies have found that occupants' thermal comfort varies with local climate conditions. However, there is no generally recommended acceptable comfort range for multifamily residential buildings, nor are there specific adaptive thermal comfort prediction methods, particularly in South-eastern Mediterranean countries. We investigated an in-vivo experience of social householders' thermal sensation votes to predict individual aspects of adaptive thermal comfort and influences on its validity in purpose built residential tower blocks of a post-war social housing estate in Famagusta, Cyprus. We conducted field studies, which included on-site questionnaire surveys, environmental monitoring and in-situ physical measurements, on 36 base-case representative archetype buildings over 288 flats where the weather is subtropical (Csa) and partly semi-arid (Bsh). 118 flats were successfully recruited. A moderate correlation was found between the occupants' thermal sensation and the indoor air temperature (r = 0.215, p < 0.05), while a negative moderate correlation was found with the outdoor air temperature (r = −0.325, p < 0.01). The occupants' thermal sensation vote indicated that the ‘neutral’ temperature was 28.5 °C, and the upper limit of the comfort range in warm indoor air temperature conditions was 31.5 °C. This suggests that, in hot and dry climates in which thermally uncomfortable indoor environments occur, particularly in summer, occupants appear to tolerate a warmer condition than at other high and medium altitudes. The outcome of this study contributes to the development of the ASHRAE Global Thermal Comfort Database II where there is not any data available for the Cypriot context.