Thermal Comfort Practices Research Articles

Towards Sustainable Living through Thermoneutral Temperature Management in Subtropical Steppe Climates

This study addresses the critical interplay between sustainable living and thermal comfort within residential buildings in subtropical steppe (BSh) climates, particularly in Northern Iraq. With the global imperative to enhance energy efficiency and occupant well-being, this research emphasizes the identification of thermoneutral indoor air temperature ranges that both support sustainable energy use and ensure the occupants’ thermal comfort. By analyzing the acceptable temperature limits across different building orientations during summer and winter, the study utilizes the predicted mean vote–predicted percentage dissatisfied (PMV-PPD) index approach to establish thermal comfort thresholds. The findings reveal that the optimal summer and winter indoor air temperatures are 29.2 °C and 19.4 °C, respectively, with variations across orientations highlighting the significant influence of building directionality on achieving thermoneutral conditions. A wider range of accepted temperatures exists in the eastward orientation in summer (between 26.6 °C and 29.2 °C). The study advances our understanding of sustainable thermal comfort practices, proposing orientation-specific temperature ranges as a cornerstone for reducing energy consumption without compromising occupant comfort in subtropical steppe climates.

Space poverty driving heat stress vulnerability and the adaptive strategy of visiting urban parks

Climate change and urbanisation have exacerbated social inequities. Increasing urban heat has made high-density housing units a vulnerability hotspot. Alternatives to extended air-conditioning are required. This research sought evidence on using urban parks as a sustainable alternative by low-income households deprived of adequate living space. We interviewed occupants of tiny flats (approx. 10 m2), known as subdivided units, and compared their park visiting routines and thermal comfort practices with other urban dwellers in Hong Kong. The substandard conditions of these small units have contributed to dwellers' sensitivity and lower capacity to adapt to summer heat, resulting in heat-related illness. The space-poor households have taken a wider range of adaptive actions and visited urban parks more frequently for cooling. Their higher mobility between home and nearby parks has shortened their home-stay time that would otherwise demand residential space cooling. The findings are important for reconsidering and redressing the uneven distribution of urban green spaces. Poor housing conditions and heat stress have forced disadvantaged households to seek refuge from natural cool spaces, such as vegetated and shaded areas of urban parks. Measures for increasing their accessibility, availability and capacity for heat mitigation are conducive to pro-poor and pro-climate spatial planning.

The Significance of the Adaptive Thermal Comfort Practice over the Structure Retrofits to Sustain Indoor Thermal Comfort

Any building’s design should sustain thermal comfort for occupants and promote less energy usage during its lifetime using accurate building retrofits to convert existing buildings into low-energy buildings so that the heating and cooling loads can be minimized. Regarding the methodology adopted in this research, an energy model of an educational building located at the German Jordanian University in Jordan was constructed utilizing DesignBuilder computer software. In addition, it was calibrated utilizing real energy consumption data for a 12-month simulation of energy performance. Subsequently, a computerized evaluation of the roles of building envelope retrofits or the adaptive thermal comfort limits in the reduction of the overall building energy consumption was analyzed. The results of the study show that the current building’s external wall insulation, roof insulation, glazing, windows, and external shading devices are relatively energy-efficient but with high cost, resulting in significant financial losses, even though they achieved noticeable energy savings. For instance, equipping the building’s ventilation system with an economizer culminated in the highest financial profit, contributing to an annual energy savings of 155 MWh. On the other hand, in an occupant-centered approach, applying the adaptive thermal comfort model in wider ranges by adding 1 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C to the existing operating temperatures would save a significant amount of energy with the least cost (while maintaining indoor thermal comfort), taking over any retrofit option. Using different adaptive thermal comfort scenarios (1 °C, 2 °C, and 3 °C) led to significant savings of around 5%, 12%, and 21%, respectively. However, using different retrofits techniques proved to be costly, with minimum energy savings compared to the adaptive approach.

Thermal comfort practices for precast concrete building construction projects: towards BIM and IOT integration

PurposeImproper evaluation and information mismanagement concerning thermal comfort appears to negatively affect occupants' satisfaction and building energy consumption in precast concrete (PC) building contexts. Predictive models are particularly problematic in PC building construction projects where natural ventilation levels do not coincide with occupants' thermal comfort and thermal sensation specifications.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review is undertaken to explore the viability and benefits of a new ICT-based approach for meeting social and environmental objectives.FindingsSophisticated thermal comfort system solutions are essential for optimising thermal comfort and saving energy in PC building construction projects.Originality/valueIt is imperative that designers and manufacturers are kept up-to-date with the possibilities and potentials associated with new and nascent technologies so that building projects can meet key sustainability criteria.

Housing retrofit as an intervention in thermal comfort practices: Chinese and Dutch householder perspectives

Contemporary packages of housing retrofit equipment are based on models of expected energy savings with regard to globally standardized thermal comfort levels. Previous research shows that the energy savings realised after a housing retrofit is substantially lower than expected. Attempts to reduce energy demand by physical re-design, utilising technical standards for thermal comfort as well as financial incentives, tend to ignore the role of retrofit interventions in the construction of everyday practices of thermal comfort making. Thermal comfort practices of heating, cooling and ventilation are moderated by specific householders’ motivations which constitute ‘wants’ and emerging ‘needs’ in the interaction with the housing retrofit equipment. This paper proposes that the interactions between the retrofitted buildings and the householders are the sum of material affordances, as signified by the design of the housing equipment on the one hand, and the practical affordances in practices-as-performances on the other. The study presents comfort practices in relation to recently retrofitted low-income housing estates in Beijing, Mianyang (Sichuan province, South-west China) and Amsterdam on the basis of 50 qualitative interviews with householders in each city. The paper concludes that the expected energy saving is counteracted by a poor match between conventional retrofit packages and householders’ considerations about their thermal comfort. To better reduce energy demand and to mitigate energy poverty, retrofit packages should provide adaptive thermal comfort as preferred by householders, rather than fixed or tightly specified thermal comfort. Such a perspective may support a more flexible and inclusive use of housing equipment as part of retrofit programs.

Warming with wood: Exploring the everyday heating practices of rural off-gas households in Wales

Rural off-gas households, the highest carbon emitters in the UK, have largely been overlooked in energy scholarship and policy, resulting in limited understanding of the ways in which the socio-material inequalities shape their likelihood of moving into fuel poverty. This paper sets out to fill this knowledge gap by developing a better understanding of the role that non-standard heating technologies play in the thermal comfort practices of rural off-gas households in Wales. Specifically, this paper focuses on ‘traditional’ wood or biomass heating – open fires, enclosed stoves and range-ovens – that are popular and commonplace throughout the UK, particularly in rural households, where they may be utilised for primary or supplementary heating. Findings show that traditional wood/biomass heating, as part of a rural off-grid heating-mix, enables households to respond to financial tensions in meaningful ways that are perceived to make their circumstances better. Additionally, insights highlight the importance of considering the potential conflicts between sustainability agendas that inform contemporary energy policymaking, as well as understanding the existing dynamics of rural off-gas thermal comfort for informing just low-carbon transitions.

On the relation of thermal comfort practice and the energy performance gap

Recent research results from different countries show that although energy efficiency measures in buildings indeed led to lower energy use in buildings, there is a performance gap between the calculated energy use and the actual measured energy use in energy-efficient houses, leading to a higher energy use than predicted. Thermal comfort related behaviour is one out of manifold reasons contributing to this performance gap. Thermal comfort requirements are based on objectively measurable parameters. A number of contextual factors impact an individual’s thermal comfort perception and preference. Technological opportunities and material arrangements offer several ways to conditioning indoor environments. Research shows that they shape the occupants’ thermal comfort attitudes. Over time, technology as conditioning practice and insulation has led to different thermal comfort practice in buildings contributing to this performance gap. As humans show an excellent adaptation potential towards a wide range of temperature, enabling them to adapt to diverse climates but also seasonally, it follows also the adaptation process can work in the opposite direction. Hence, that with reduced exposure to outdoor weather and more narrow temperature ranges inside building humans might also adapt to indoor thermal conditions and get more sensitive to small indoor temperature changes, leading probably to higher indoor temperature over time (“indoor exposure rebound”). As our energy conservation efforts of the recent years show less effects than expected, it seems that the two mainly applied sustainability strategies efficiency and consistency have limited effects as they are affected by rebound phenomena. Sufficiency, as the third sustainability strategy, is not yet a generally accepted strategy. It refers to what has been described as “the right measure”. The question of what would be “the right measure” of indoor thermal comfort, meaning what thermal conditions would be sufficient, can be raised. Based on a discussion of findings from literature, it will be concluded that there is a need for a new thermal comfort thinking in climates which have the need for seasonal or all year round active conditioning leading to a more sufficient conditioning practice.

Thermal comfort practices in non-domestic buildings within the organisational context

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the thermal comfort practices in four non-domestic buildings and explores how the organisational context affects the actions and practices of occupants and facilities managers. Design/methodology/approach The study applied qualitative methods and post-occupancy evaluation methodologies to investigate the thermal practices in four case studies. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies was deployed, namely, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, observation and monitoring studies of building performance. Findings The concept “distributed agency” was applied to analyse the thermal comfort practices in non-domestic buildings. This concept helped to illustrate everyday actions by occupants and facilities managers in relation to the organisational context. Occupants’ actions and building management practices could be affected by the organisation norms and context leading to problems and dissatisfaction with indoor thermal conditions. Research limitations/implications This study is based on a small number of case studies and it is exploratory. Extensive monitoring data were not available. However, the research identified the thermal conditions and occupants’ satisfaction levels as background where actions to achieve thermal comfort and facilities manager’s practices took place. Practical implications The study suggests the need to examine in greater depth how the organisational goals and individual goals could be linked to support specific building performance targets. Social implications The paper advocates for the application of multidisciplinary approaches to study the occupant dimension of building performance. It suggests the need to develop a nuanced understanding of how occupants pursue comfort as active agents who interact with the built environment. Originality/value The study has applied social practice theory to consider the influence of the organisation on thermal comfort practices in non-domestic buildings; considering the perspectives of building occupants and facilities managements within the organisational context.

“It’s an Old House and That’s How It Works”: Living Sufficiently Well in Inefficient Homes

ABSTRACTIn the United Kingdom, the domestic sector is a major contributor of national carbon emissions. Improving the energy efficiency of the existing stock, particularly the oldest and least efficient homes, is therefore of utmost importance if ambitious carbon reduction targets are to be met. Analyzing the rich, narrative data of households living in old, hard-to-treat homes, this paper produces novel insights into the ways in which domestic thermal comfort practices are shaped by meaningful relationships, intimately bound to identificatory positions, that are deeply connected to these valued domestic environments. Findings concern how households renegotiate widely accepted understandings of thermal comfort to better fit with the materiality of their old homes by constructing for themselves meaningful ‘moral’ identities that focus on living sufficiently well. This relational understanding of domestic energy consumption highlights how materiality, practices and moral narratives are produced and reproduced dynamically over time.

Could urban greening mitigate suburban thermal inequity?: the role of residents’ dispositions and household practices

Over the past decade research on urban thermal inequity has grown, with a focus on denser built environments. In this letter we examine thermal inequity associated with climate change impacts and changes to urban form in a comparatively socio-economically disadvantaged Australian suburb. Local urban densification policies designed to counteract sprawl have reduced block sizes, increased height limits, and diminished urban tree canopy cover (UTC). Little attention has been given to the combined effects of lower UTC and increased heat on disadvantaged residents. Such impacts include rising energy expenditure to maintain thermal comfort (i.e. cooling dwellings). We used a survey of residents (n = 230) to determine their perceptions of climate change impacts; household energy costs; household thermal comfort practices; and dispositions towards using green infrastructure to combat heat. Results suggest that while comparatively disadvantaged residents spend more on energy as a proportion of their income, they appear to have reduced capacity to adapt to climate change at the household scale. We found most residents favoured more urban greening and supported tree planting in local parks and streets. Findings have implications for policy responses aimed at achieving urban climate justice.

Thermal comfort practices in the home and their impact on energy consumption

Existing theories have little to say about thermal comfort in the home. Most previous studies have focused on non-domestic buildings in which the occupants have limited opportunities to change the ambient environmental conditions. At home, people generally have greater freedom and, subject to the capabilities of the building and its systems, can decide and create conditions they consider comfortable. This paper reports on a detailed study of thermal comfort practices and energy consumption in different dwellings in South Wales using mixed methods to record physical conditions and householders' accounts of how and why they create those conditions. The methodology includes a robust form of thermal comfort survey that has enabled us to link reported comfort votes to measurements of prevailing environmental conditions. Householders also participated in in-depth interviews to describe how they maintain comfort in their everyday lives. This study reveals diverse time-varying profiles of thermal conditions, in which there are significant differences in temperatures in the main living spaces and in the temperature distribution, for example, between living rooms and bedrooms. It shows how householders develop a range of behaviours, skills and knowledge to create thermal conditions they consider acceptable rather than those predicted by conventional comfort theories.

Expectations of indoor climate control

This paper discusses reassessment of indoor climate control in the context of current thermal comfort practice and research. We review the limitations of comfort models and standards with several examples. We examine how people's thermal sensation and preference may be influenced by culture and climate and associated issues of thermal expectations and adaptation. Finally, we discuss how incorporating these factors into future comfort standards might yield more ‘effective’ indoor climate control.