Abstract
Relations between bedroom thermal environment changes and subjective sleep quality and thermal comfort were surveyed for 63 apartment occupants during midsummer in Osaka. Changes of Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) of 123 air-conditioned and 41 naturally ventilated nights were compared. 1) For air-conditioned bedrooms, sleep quality was better for smaller changes of WBGT from the beginning of sleep and for faster changes of WBGT to constant from the beginning of sleep. 2) For naturally ventilated bedrooms, a) WBGT increased from the beginning of sleep and decreased toward the end of sleep for higher sleep quality nights. However, WBGT decreased from the beginning of sleep and increased toward the end of sleep for lower sleep quality nights. b) The WBGT change was smaller for thermally comfortable nights.
Highlights
Tachibana et al (2017) compared the use of air conditioning all night, the use of natural ventilation all night, and the use of air conditioning for part of the night for apartment occupants in Osaka during summer
2) For naturally ventilated bedrooms, a) Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) increased from the beginning of sleep and decreased toward the end of sleep for higher sleep quality nights
WBGT decreased from the beginning of sleep and increased toward the end of sleep for lower sleep quality nights. b) The WBGT change was smaller for thermally comfortable nights
Summary
Preserving sleep quality is an important issue during hot and humid summers, especially in urban crowded areas affected by heat island phenomena. Tachibana et al (2017) compared the use of air conditioning all night, the use of natural ventilation all night, and the use of air conditioning for part of the night for apartment occupants in Osaka during summer. Results show that 1) thermal sensations were not different among the three patterns, and 2) subjective sleep quality of natural ventilation all night was better than for the use of air conditioning all night. It compared only averaged thermal environments during sleep [1]. The present study analysed effects of thermal environment changes during sleep on thermal sensation and subjective sleep quality
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