Thermal Comfort In Spaces Research Articles

A Review of Thermal Comfort Evaluation and Improvement in Urban Outdoor Spaces

Urban outdoor space is an important activity place for residents, and its thermal environment directly affects residents’ quality of life and physical and mental health. Due to global climate change and the acceleration of urbanization, the outdoor thermal comfort of urban residents has seriously declined, causing more and more scholars to pay attention to this problem and to carry out research. This paper summarizes the development history and evaluation principles of outdoor thermal comfort evaluation indices and sorts out the methods for achieving outdoor thermal comfort. This paper reviews the effects of urban climate, local microclimate, physiological, psychological, social, and cultural factors on outdoor thermal comfort. In addition, strategies for improving thermal comfort in urban outdoor spaces are discussed from the aspects of urban geometry, vegetation, surface materials, and water bodies. Finally, the existing problems and development directions of current urban outdoor space thermal comfort studies are pointed out. This review paper can provide a reference for the scientific planning and construction of urban outdoor spaces to improve people’s thermal comfort.

Landscape Configuration Effects on Outdoor Thermal Comfort across Campus—A Case Study

As a main place for student activities on campus, outdoor spaces have positive impacts on students’ physical and mental health. Namely, outdoor heat and comfort are of great significance to improve activity quality. Here, four unique outdoor spaces were studied to explore the varying effects on human thermal comfort during hot-summer and cold-winter periods. Distinct outdoor spaces (fully open, semi-open, semi-enclosed, and fully enclosed areas) from the southern campus of Anhui Jianzhu University were chosen. The PET was used as a metric for measuring thermal comfort and analyzing correlated spatiotemporal distributions. The results showed that outdoor thermal comfort was derived from multiple factors, including vegetation, underlying surface materials, building presence, and wind-heat environment. Notably, high correlations between Tmrt and thermal comfort were revealed, where such temperatures of places with trees or building shade were low; thus, PET was low. Further, Ws showed a significantly negative correlation with PET. Of the four outdoor space forms, the fully enclosed location had the lowest thermal comfort level, while the semi-enclosed spaces showed the highest level of body comfort. Therefore, semi-enclosed space (U-shaped) is recommended in campus planning and construction. Accordingly, an improved strategy was proposed based on experimental transformation for fully enclosed spaces. The thermal comfort after optimization was simulated to provide references for outdoor space thermal comfort improvement during seasonal extremes.

Impacts of glazing system design factors upon dynamic indoor thermal comfort incorporating solar radiation effects

Solar radiation makes great influence on human perception of thermal balance and comfort. This study investigated the effect of glazing system design factors on thermal comfort in the presence of solar radiation and aims to clarify the relationship between glazing system performance and thermal comfort through simulations. Specifically, a cellular office unit with different window sizes, glazing types, and shading devices was set for simulating the thermal environment based on an integrated MRT algorithm that considered both longwave radiation from inner surfaces and shortwave solar radiation. The temporal and space thermal comfort were evaluated through long-term metrics including space Thermal Comfort Availability (sTCA) and temporal Thermal Comfort Usability (tTCU). Under the climatic conditions in Taiwan, it was found that SHGC makes greatest influence on sTCA/tTCU, followed by window size and overhang depth. Eventually, an additive model was chosen to construct the functional relationship between sTCA/tTCU and the main effects of three important parameters as well as their interactions. The simple and quick method we established is believed to be helpful to architects in the preliminary evaluation of the space dynamic thermal comfort of the design scheme in the early design stage.

Thermal Comfort Comparison of Different Dwelling Typologies

Thermal comfort in spaces can be defined as the creation of conditions that will provide the users’ living standards. Therefore, it is important to investigate the thermal comfort conditions in different types of dwellings and the design parameters that affect these conditions. In this study, thermal comfort conditions in different dwellings were investigated. In this context, thermal comfort conditions were measured between December 2020 and January 2022 in four selected dwellings in Bingöl, located in a cold climate. Measurements were made in the daylight living areas, night living areas and service areas of these dwellings. Temperature and humidity, air velocity, and radiation temperatures in the spaces were measured by TESTO 480 multi-purpose air conditioner, Hot Wire Anemometer DT8880, and infrared non-contact thermometer, respectively. Tables and graphics created using the data obtained from these measurements were evaluated according to the ASHRAE 55 standard. In the analyses made, the thermal comfort conditions of the dwellings with different typologies were compared. As a result of the study, the design parameters that are effective in the differences between the dwellings were evaluated and it was aimed to reveal a methodology that could guide the new designs to be made.

Analysis of a low-temperature small approach open cooling tower integrated with radiant cooling and displacement ventilation for space conditioning in temperate climates

ABSTRACT Evaporative cooling, using cooling tower systems, has the potential to offer an alternative approach for producing high temperature chilled water, particularly for buildings located in temperate climates. The current paper examines the performance of an integrated cooling system, where an open forced draught counter flow cooling tower is used for the provision of chilled water for a radiant cooling and displacement ventilation system. For this purpose, a low temperature low approach direct evaporative cooling tower is used which can provide cooling water with low approach temperatures (1-3 K), which defines the temperature difference between the tower water outlet temperature and ambient wet bulb temperature. The performance of the proposed cooling system has been investigated for internal buildings loads up to 66 W·m-2 in order to examine the limitations of the cooling system. Space thermal comfort conditions and system performance metrics were assessed for four different temperate climate types as follows: cool and dry (Helsinki), cool and semi-humid (Birmingham), warm and dry (Prague), and warm and humid (Paris). The assessment shows that for the proposed system, where a radiant floor was used, can provide acceptable thermal comfort conditions for approximately 80% of the occupant hours over the respective cooling seasons.

Indoor environmental assessment: Comparing ventilation scenarios in pre- and post-retrofitted dwellings through test cells

In the next few years, outdoor temperature is expected to increase significantly as a result of climate change, a noticeable phenomenon, especially in the Mediterranean. In this future scenario, ventilation is a low-cost and useful strategy for tackling indoor overheating, mainly in energy-poor housing buildings. This research assesses the influence of different ventilation systems, air rates and schedules on the thermal comfort and indoor air quality of a residential retrofitted space when compared to an un-retrofitted environment, through test cell measurements. To do so, the methodology combines on-site monitoring with numerical models, simultaneously analysing both spaces under the same climate conditions. Results obtained show barely perceptible differences between the implementation of a mechanical ventilation system and a natural one, when it comes to thermal comfort in spaces with low thermal inertia, highlighting the clear advantage of energy and economic savings of the passive system. • The differences between IAQ in pre-/post-retrofitted ventilated spaces are minimal. • Inadequate ventilation periods negatively affect both IAQ and thermal comfort. • Short-term ventilation periods are useful for occasionally reducing high CO 2 . • Long-term ventilation periods are required to maintain IAQ with high occupancy. • Night ventilation is effective if applied under specific thermal conditions.

Determining Open Space Thermal Comfort Range for Isfahan’s Elementary Schools for Girls

فضای باز مدارس ازجمله فضاهای مهم آن‌ها و محل فعالیت‌هایی چون بازی و آموزش است و دانش‌آموزان مهارت‌های مهم تحصیلی، محیطی، و اجتماعی را در آن می‌آموزند، بنابراین باید تابع مشخصاتی خاص و پاسخ‌گوی همۀ نیازهای دانش‌آموزان باشد. اینکه آسایش حرارتی از اساسی‌ترین نیاز دانش‌آموزان برای حضور در حیاط مدارس است، تأمین آن را و ضروری می‌نمایاند. تعیین محدودۀ آسایش حرارتی امری پیچیده و در فضاهای مشابه، بسته به تنوع افراد، تجربیات، انتظارات، فرهنگ، سن، و جنسیت آن‌ها، متفاوت است. در پژوهش حاضر سعی گردیده تا محدودۀ آسایش حرارتی و دمای خنثی در فضای باز مدارس پایۀ ابتدایی دخترانۀ شهر اصفهان ارزیابی گردد. به این منظور، ابتدا با توجه به پهنه‌بندی اقلیمی شهر اصفهان که شامل سه منطقۀ گرم و خشک نائین، منطقۀ معتدل و خشک میمه، و نیمه‌سرد سمت شهرضا می‌شود، سه دبستان دخترانه، هریک در یکی از این مناطق، برای مطالعات میدانی انتخاب گردیدند و سپس متغیرهای اقلیمی دما، رطوبت، سرعت باد با دستگاه دیتالاگر دما و رطوبت و بادسنج جمع‌آوری شدند و به‌طور هم‌زمان 500 دانش‌آموز در حیاط این مدارس پرسش‌نامه‌ای را در این خصوص تکمیل کردند. در مرحلۀ دوم، به کمک نرم‌افزار ریمن شاخص حرارتی دمای معادل فیزیولوژیک تعیین و با استفاده از نرم‌افزار آماری و نمودار رگرسیون خطی، محدودۀ آسایش حرارتی و دمای خنثی برای فضای باز مورد استفادۀ دختران 7 تا 13سالۀ شهر اصفهان تعیین گشت. بر اساس نتایج دمای خنثی ℃۱۷٫۴ و محدودۀ آسایش حرارتی بر مبنای دمای معادل فیزیولوژیک ℃13٫6-32 تعیین شد که با استانداردهای اشری و ایزو 7730 و حتی مطالعات پیشین آسایش حرارتی در شهر اصفهان تفاوت دارد و این اهمیت مطالعۀ بیشتر در مورد آسایش حرارتی گروه‌های سنی و جنسیتی متفاوت در شهرهای مختلف ایران را می‌رساند. دمای خنثی حاکی از سازگاری بیشتر جمعیت مورد مطالعه با شرایط سرد است.

KENYAMANAN TERMAL ADAPTIF MAHASISWA DI UNIVERSITAS SAINS DAN TEKNOLOGI JAYAPURA

To get good quality learning, a comfortable study room is needed both visually, audally and thermally. Thermal comfort is greatly influenced by the climatic conditions of a region. In areas with high daily air temperature, high humidity and low air velocity, it is difficult to produce thermal comfort with natural air conditioning. Jayapura City is one of the cities in Indonesia with daily air temperature and high humidity and low air velocity. Therefore, adaptive processes are needed to achieve thermal comfort in spaces, including study rooms. Each human's adaptive thermal comfort is different according to local climatic conditions. The purpose of this study was to determine the adaptive thermal comfort of students in naturally ventilated classrooms at the Jayapura University of Science and Technology (USTJ) in the city of Jayapura, Papua, namely students 'neutrality, acceptance and thermal preferences, as well as students' adaptive behavior in achieving thermal comfort. This research was conducted in one of USTJ's classrooms in Jayapura, Papua. Four environmental parameters were measured, namely temperature, humidity, wind speed, and mean radiant temperature (MRT). The data were obtained through filling out a questionnaire to 100 USTJ students during the space measurement. Thermal neutrality data were analyzed using regression analysis using SPSS software, while thermal acceptance and preference and adaptive behavior were analyzed based on the results of the questionnaire answers. The results showed that USTJ students' thermal neutrality was at 29.°C Ta or 29.55°C Top. all students can accept the thermal conditions of the room, but 59% of students choose to want the room to be cooler due to their thermal preferences. The adaptive behavior that is carried out is turning on the fan, picking up objects to be used as a fan, leaving the room and drinking more often.

Spatial environment design and comfort simulation of high-latitude building bottom based on geological conditions

In order to solve the situation that the temperature in the high-latitude area is large and the space comfort of the bottom of the building is poor, the bottom space environment of the high-latitude building based on geological conditions is designed, and the comfort of the space environment is simulated. The numerical simulation technology is used to simulate the temperature information of the bottom space of the building, and the temperature, velocity, and humidity fields of the space air at the bottom of the building affected by the geological conditions are obtained. Based on the characteristics of the high-latitude space environment, the design is applied to the single-core bottom space and the multi-core bottom space. The space environment at the bottom of the high-latitude building is divided into functional partitions of the bottom space; the outdoor open space thermal comfort model of Actual Sensation Vote (ASV) is used to simulate the wind environment, radiation distribution, temperature, and humidity distribution and simulate the comfort of the space environment at the bottom of the building. The analysis of the experimental results shows that the weather condition at 8:00 am is the most comfortable time for human body to feel. At this time, the thermal feeling in most areas of the indoor space is moderate, which shows that the method can accurately simulate the comfort of the space environment at the bottom of the building from the perspective of radiation distribution, wind speed distribution, and thermal comfort distribution, and the designed space environment function layout at the bottom of the building is reasonable.

Microclimate Environmental Assessment and Impact of Mountain City Pedestrian Streets in Summer

In mountainous cities, walking is an important form of transportation. The microclimate environment of pedestrian streets in summer affects the comfort of pedestrians, especially in hot summer cities. Besides, there are many height differences in mountainous city pedestrian streets, while existing researches of the thermal environment were mainly aimed at plain cities. We used typology to analyze different spatial patterns and tested microclimate of five kinds of streets in the Shanchengxiang of Chongqing. Then the universal thermal climate index (UTCI) was used to evaluate the thermal comfort of different spatial spaces. Firstly, the thermal environment of the mountain city street in summer is extremely uncomfortable and needs to be improved. Secondly, the sky view factor (SVF) has a great impact on the street thermal environment. Among all kinds of streets, the one-sided open B-N (SVF = 0.474) has the worst thermal environment, with an average UTCI of 44.7℃. However, the two-sided enclosed B2-B2 (SVF = 0.052) represents a better thermal environment, with an average UTCI of 35.5℃. The R2 value of 0.88 reflects that the linear correlation between UTCI and SVF is larger than that of H/W, whose R2 value is mere 0.04. Finally, different interfaces and enclosure forms have a great impact on space thermal comfort. This study quantifies the parameters that influence the design of pedestrian streets in mountain cities from the perspective of outdoor microclimate environmental assessment and provide a reference for the sustainable design of regional streets.

EFFECT OF BUILDING FORM WITH INNER COURT AND HEIGHT VARIATIONS ON THERMAL COMFORT OUTDOOR SPACE IN SUDIRMAN SUITES APARTMENT BANDUNG

Abstract- Designing apartment as a vertical residence should not only pay attention to aesthetics value but also aspects comfort aspects, such as thermal comfort. Apartment thermal comfort is not only limited to indoor units but also outdoor space as residents’ communal area. Sudirman Suites Apartment built in the center of Bandung City with limited land availability is selected as the research object because of the uniqueness of the building form with inner court and height variation that allows the availability of outdoor space on the floor above. Sudirman Suite Apartments’ building form and height can affect the site’s microclimate and outdoor space thermal comfort. This study aims to determine the effect of building form with inner court and height variation to thermal comfort of apartment outdoor space as well as the right solution to improve it. This study used quantitative method, with descriptive evaluative type of research. Measurements were taken on the Sudirman Suite Apartment outdoor space such as ground floor parking area, terrace, and aisle, 1st floor inner court, 2nd floor roof garden, and sky garden on 9th and 11th floor. The measurement data then calculated into thermal comfort perception and analyzed based on theories of literature study result to reach conclusion. Influence of the building form and height to outdoor space thermal comfort the thermal comfort of Sudirman Suites Apartment analysis divided into: outdoor space on the main mass with inner court and height variations, pilotis on the ground floor of the main mass, and supporting mass addition. Besides of the building form and height, environmental factors also affect the outdoor space thermal comfort such as wind and radiative temperatures in each outdoor space. Based on this study, it is known that there is significant effect of the apartment’s form with inner court, where the comparison between blocking tower height and comparable distance between towers makes inner court area air flow tend to be low. Pilotis on the ground floor increases the speed of air flow on the ground floor. Sun radiation reduction occurs in the sky garden area overshadowed by building form with height variation. Outdoor space elements optimization is considered less optimal in supporting thermal comfort, such as the lack of plants and rooftop surface area dominated by hardscape. Key Words: apartment, outdoor space, thermal comfort, Bandung Sudirman Suites

Analysis of the Wind Environment to Improve the Thermal Comfort in the Colonnade Space of a Qilou Street Based on the Relative Warmth Index

By analyzing measurements of the thermal environment of a qilou (arcade building) street, this study used the relative warmth index (RWI) to evaluate the thermal comfort in the colonnade space of a qilou. The analysis of the influence of the temperature, humidity, and wind speed on the thermal comfort in the colonnade space of a qilou street was conducted, and it was shown that the ambient wind speed had a strong influence on the RWI, indicating that a proper increase in the wind speed positively affected thermal comfort in this space. Then, this study also analyzed the effects of different forms of qilou streets on the wind environment by employing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and summarized the architectural design measures that can improve the thermal comfort, including adopting back chamfer, street gaps, and the appropriate sizing of building components. It was concluded that the wind environment of a qilou could be optimized in terms of these measures, and the average RWI value decreased by 0.06, effectively enhancing the thermal comfort in the colonnade space. The research findings are applicable toward designing a thermally comfortable environment in the transitional space.

On the improvement of thermal comfort in indoor spaces conditioned by split-type systems

Conventional on/off-based control split-type appliances are widely used in classrooms and offices, in Brazil and in many other countries, due to their low cost and ease of installation. However, occupants often complain about thermal discomfort depending on their position within the conditioned space, especially in positions that are directly affected by the draft, since those equipment provide high cold air velocities as a result of their high cooling capacity relatively to their air supply area. In order to improve the indoor thermal comfort in spaces conditioned by this kind of system, a simplified empirical model for controlling both the supply airflow and the temperature set-point is proposed in this work. In view of that, the comfort conditions in an occupied classroom were experimentally evaluated according to ISO 7730 Standard, which defines the thermal satisfaction in occupied environments based on the PMV index. Specifically, the speed, temperature and relative humidity of the air and the mean radiant temperature of the room were measured at 8 positions within the air conditioned space, for the three original air flows (high, medium and low) of a 10.5-kW cooling capacity appliance and three set-point temperatures (23, 24 and 25 °C). The simplified model, correlating thermal comfort and the variables that could be directly controlled by the split-type system (airflow rate and temperature), was obtained by adjusting several curves from 72 measuring assemblies (8 measuring points, 3 set-point temperatures and 3 supply airflows). The correlation that best represents the distribution of thermal comfort throughout the conditioned environment was provided by the non-linear regression method of Levenberg-Marquardt.

Enhancement of Acoustical Performance in Universities' Educational Spaces

Acoustic and thermal performance greatly affect in lecture halls as, acoustic, architecture and thermal treatments play an important role to enhance acoustic and thermal performance in space and therefore increasing sentiment of acoustic and thermal comfort in space. This research get down to the role of acoustic, architecture and thermal treatments to enhance acoustic and thermal performance of internal acoustic and thermal environment for main lecture hall of Tanta engineering whereas, the hall suffers great acoustic and thermal problems, all because of several reasons, most important it, sky light of ceiling, integration work done between acoustic and thermal treatments to achieve best acoustic and thermal performance and using ODEON software to evaluate suggested treatments acoustically and selection the best then evaluate it by DESIGN BUILDER software to calculate the range of energy consumption reduce in hall after these suggested treatments. It helped to enhance acoustic and thermal performance level in hall and increasing sentiment of acoustic and thermal comfort in hall. RT value of lecture hall reduce from RT=3.5 Hz to RT=0.95 Hz and the range of energy consumption reduce in hall after these treatments 70%.

Experimental comparison of thermal comfort during cooling with a fan coil system and radiant floor system at varying space heights

With the development of the economy, architectural space forms and air conditioning systems have become more and more diverse. This paper presents a comparative study on thermal comfort in spaces of varying heights using a fan coil system and a radiant floor system for cooling in the “Comprehensive Experiment Platform of Variable Building Space” located in Tianjin, China. A total of 30 subjects participated the questionnaire survey under 8 different experimental conditions, and the indoor thermal environmental parameters were collected for these two systems at varying space height by instrument monitoring. Results indicated that space height had a significant effect on thermal comfort for both the fan coil system and the radiant floor system. The neutral temperature at space height of 3, 5, 7, and 9 m were 24.8 °C, 24.2 °C, 23.8 °C, and 23.5 °C, respectively. The neutral temperature gradually decreased with height of the ceiling when using a fan coil system, which means that participants had greater requirements for cooling at greater heights. In contrast, the neutral temperature at heights of 3, 5, 7, and 9 m were 23.5 °C, 23.8 °C, 24.1 °C, and 24.5 °C, respectively. The neutral temperature gradually increased when using the floor radiant system with increasing height, indicating that participants had lower requirements for cooling at greater heights. Furthermore, the results of this study demonstrate that the floor radiant system had an advantage over the fan coil system for thermal comfort in a space of greater height.

ASPEK VENTILASI DAN AKTIVITAS PENGHUNI MENCIPTAKAN KENYAMANAN TERMAL RUMAH VERNAKULER LERENG SINDORO-SUMBING

The role of ventilation in creating thermal comfort in space is very important, it is seen in more ventilated house open on the stone house effective in heat propagation, so that the temperature in the space more quickly adapt to outdoor temperature, the ventilation material is also influential in the effectiveness of ventilation performance in creating thermal comfort, seen in wooden house with wooden ventilation more can maintain the indoor thermal conditions. The occupant's activity is also one of the factors in creating thermal comfort, from the use of clothing to the habit or tradition of occupant activity in creating the thermal conditions.

Envelope Thermal Design Optimization for Urban Residential Buildings in Malawi

This study sought to optimize the envelope thermal design of free-running urban residential buildings in Malawi. It specifically set out to improve the urban residential buildings’ thermal comfort and suggest optimal envelope thermal design features for these buildings. The research study was primarily dependent on computer simulations in EnergyPlus to replicate the typical Malawian urban residential building’s thermal behaviour and then study the impacts of various envelope configurations on the thermal comfort conditions registered in the building. The simulation model was experimentally validated to check its appropriateness to the climatic design conditions prevalent in Malawi and out of the three major cities that were considered, the model was found to be appropriate for use in the two cities of Mzuzu and Lilongwe leaving out the city of Blantyre. The optimization methodology that was employed involved the use of orthogonal arrays, statistical analyses and the listing method. It was found that the optimal envelope thermal design, which registered up to 18% lower discomfort hours than that of the typical urban residential building, consists of a 50 mm concrete floor slab, 230 mm burnt brick walls with an external layer of 19 mm EPS, tiled roof with an internal layer of sarking and 50 mm EPS, double Low-E Glazing with a transparency ratio of 45% and 0.2408 m2 of adaptable operational surface area for the air bricks. Out of all the envelope features that were studied, air infiltration registered the most significant contribution towards the ultimate residential building thermal performance. It was demonstrated that controlled air infiltration through the use of operable air bricks whose operational surface area is adaptable can be very effective in enhancing the building’s comfort levels. It was further observed that excessive insulation of the building envelope generally has a detrimental effect on the indoor space thermal comfort levels.

In-situ validation of a fault tolerant control strategy for VAV systems

In variable air volume (VAV) systems, conventional control strategies reset the supply air static pressure based on the opening degrees of all the VAV dampers. However, such methods are not robust because the supply air static pressure set-point will gradually increase to its high limit in case some VAV terminals are abnormal. Such abnormal happens quite often as a survey reported that 20.1% of the VAV terminals were ineffective in the field. This study provides a practically applicable fault tolerant control strategy for VAV systems. Instead of using VAV damper positions which contain limited information of space thermal comfort, the developed strategy utilizes other available information for the optimal control. A statistical method is also used in this strategy. After a throughout in-situ test, the strategy has been permanently implemented in all office floors (142,000 m2) in a high-rise building since July of year 2014. Although there are some statistical based optimal control methods have been reported, the permanently application of such methods at large scale is rarely seen in literature. This paper presents the details of the fault tolerant control strategy as well as its in-situ test results. Supported by the test data, the new control strategy is compared with the conventional strategy which was originally implemented in the building. The supply air static pressure is reduced significantly resulting in 33.6% power saving while the space thermal comfort was still maintained.

The optimal utilization of solar energy in residential buildings in light of the Jordanian building regulations

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of the current Jordanian building codes on the performance of residential buildings in Jordan. It analyzes the appropriateness of these codes to purvey thermal comfort in spaces and save energy using DEROB-LTH (Building Energy Software Tools Directory). Various variables have been studied such as: the orientation of building, the setback distance between buildings and building envelops by choosing the most suitable external windows in terms of type, size and orientation. The study took Abu Nusseir city in Jordan as a case study for semi-arid regions in Jordan and found significant influences of building regulations such as the setback between buildings on the thermal performance of residential apartments.The study recommends that decision makers review all regulatory policies including the current building codes that influence energy saving in buildings to set up effective guidelines to meet the safety and healthy requirements for occupants in residential buildings.

Evaluating thermal effects of internal courtyard in a tropical terrace house by computational simulation

Thermal comfort conditions in residential buildings vary according to the designs, modifications of the house and adaptations of the occupants. The purpose of this paper is to examine thermal performance of terrace housing in tropical climate by exploiting internal courtyard. A case study of a terrace house was chosen, where field measurement was conducted during a three-day recording in naturally ventilated spaces of the house. Results from field measurement were used to develop a baseline model for computational experiment. Subsequently, the effects of introducing an internal courtyard on thermal comfort performance of the building were investigated using ECOTECT software. The results from simulation analysis indicate that, applying internal courtyard in the terrace house will improve natural ventilation and thermal comfort in spaces with openings to the outside environment. It shows that the influence of the internal courtyard on the thermal condition has a strong reliance on the envelop openings. This study suggests that the internal courtyard of a terrace house can affect improvements in thermal conditions of the courtyard's surrounding spaces, provided sufficient and efficient openings with shading devices are suitably incorporated.