Thermal Comfort Assessment in a Closed Air Conditioned ICT Laboratory at Ungku Omar Polytechnic, Malaysia

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated experimental study of the thermal comfort in a Closed Air Conditioned ICT Laboratory at Ungku Omar Polytechnic, Malaysia. The aim of this study is to determine the level of thermal comfort in the ICT laboratory by using the Thermal Confort Measurement (TCM) equipment. The ICT laboratory is considered as an indoor environment and this study had been carried out by the use of the custom made TCM from 8.30 am till 4.30 pm. This TCM is able to investigate the level of thermal in this laboratory in aspects of the level of carbon dioxide (CO2), humidity, wind speed, ambient temperature, and globe temperature simultaneously. All the data were then compared to the standards or guidelines produced by National Institue Of Safety and Health of Malaysia (NIOSH), American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) and the American Standards of Heating Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE 55), which is currently being practiced in Malaysia. From the study that was carried out it was revealed that the level of CO2 in the ICT Laboratory exceeded the hazardous level thus can produce the negative impact to the productivity of the end user which are the student that will be using this laboratory.