Thermal comfort assessment in semi-outdoor environments: Application to comfort study in stadia

The present study addresses thermal comfort assessment of outdoor and semi-outdoor environments. Two stadium case studies are used to demonstrate the potentiality of the approach that combines wind tunnel data and the calculation of human heat balance due to particular climatic environments. The thermal index PET (physiological equivalent temperature) is used to evaluate the thermal comfort in such complex environments. The specificities of stadium semi-outdoor spaces are summarised and the necessary assumptions made to apply the computation procedure are described. The approach includes assumptions on the thermo-physical phenomena as well as geometric computations. This work benefited from the development of an interactive design tool of built environments (outdoor urban surroundings): EVE (enriched virtual environments). It is a virtual reality platform developed at CSTB to help designers, architects and urban planners to evaluate the various options in competition regarding acoustic, visual, thermal and wind comfort of pedestrian in a particular urban environment.     

Outdoor thermal comfort: Analyzing the impact of urban configurations on the thermal performance of street canyons in the humid subtropical climate of Sydney

The quality of outdoor space is becoming increasingly important with the growing rate of urbanization. Visual, acoustic, and thermal balance degradation are all negative impacts associated with outdoor comfort in dense urban fabrics. Urban morphology thus needs assessment and optimization to ensure favorable outdoor thermal comfort (OTC). This study aims to evaluate the thermal performance of streets in residential zones of Liverpool, NSW, Australia, and tries to improve their comfort index (Physiological Equivalent Temperature) to reveal optimum urban configurations. This evaluation is done by investigating the following urban design factors affecting OTC using computational simulation techniques: street orientation, aspect ratio, building typology, and surface coverage. Our findings reveal that street canyon orientation is the most influential factor (46.42%), followed by aspect ratio (30.59%). Among the influential meteorological parameters (air temperature, wind speed, humidity and solar radiation), wind velocity had the most significant impact on the thermal comfort of the outdoor spaces in this coastal region, which typically experiences intense airflow. The results of our analysis can be utilized by multiple stakeholders, allowing them to understand and extract the most vital design factors which contextually influence the thermal comfort of outdoor spaces. Outdoor thermal comfort has a direct effect on the health and wellbeing of occupants of outdoor spaces.     

Seasonal effects of urban street shading on long-term outdoor thermal comfort

As shading, an important factor in urban environments, affects thermal environments and long-term thermal comfort, this study conducted several field experiments to analyze the outdoor thermal conditions on urban streets in central Taiwan. The RayMan model was utilized for predicting long-term thermal comfort using meteorological data for a 10-year period. Analytical results indicate that slightly shaded areas typically have highly frequent hot conditions during summer, particularly at noon. However, highly shaded locations generally have a low physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) during winter. Correlation analysis reveals that thermal comfort is best when a location is shaded during spring, summer, and autumn. During winter, low-shade conditions may contribute to the increase in solar radiation; thus, thermal comfort is improved when a location has little shade in winter. We suggest that a certain shading level is best for urban streets, and trees or shade devices should be used to improve the original thermal environment.     

Outdoor thermal comfort and outdoor activities: A review of research in the past decade

Outdoor spaces are important to sustainable cities because they accommodate pedestrian traffic and outdoor activities, and contribute greatly to urban livability and vitality. In the global context of climate change, outdoor spaces that provide a pleasurable thermal comfort experience for pedestrians effectively improve the quality of urban living. The influence of thermal comfort on outdoor activities is a complex issue comprising both climatic and behavioral aspects; however, current investigations lack a general framework for assessment. This paper presents a review of research over the past decade on the behavioral aspects of outdoor thermal comfort. The article focuses on perceptions of outdoor thermal comfort and the use of outdoor space in the context of urban planning. We further discuss a general framework for assessing outdoor thermal comfort based on behavioral aspects and the need for predicting tools in the design and planning of outdoor thermal comfort.     

基于室外热舒适的寒地教学组团形态设计策略

立足寒地城乡地域特征,修正室外热舒适预测指标,分析寒地高校教学楼组团形态对室外热舒适的影响并提出 优化设计策略,改善寒地室外热舒适性能。基于寒地校园热环境实测数据修正室外热舒适预测指标,通过模拟实验提 出基于室外热舒适的组团形态设计策略。当D/H=2.50 时,教学楼组团室外热舒适和空间感受较好;L 型围合式和三 面围合式是兼顾室外热舒适、节能和空间需求的较优组团形式。室外热舒适评价指标需结合地域特征进行修正,设计 者可通过优化教学楼组团形态改善寒地高校室外热舒适水平。     

Impact of urban geometry on outdoor thermal comfort and air quality from field measurements in Curitiba,Brazil

Urban climate can have severe impacts on people who use outdoor spaces within a city. In its essence, urban climate is directly linked to the configuration of street axes, building heights and their attributes. Thus, the role of urban planners can be crucial for guaranteeing outdoor thermal comfort and air quality in open spaces. This paper presents observed and estimated relations between urban morphology and changes in microclimate and air quality within a city center. Two approaches are presented, showing results of field measurements and urban climate simulations using the ENVI-met software suite. From measured microclimatic data and comfort surveys, carried out in downtown Curitiba, Brazil, the impact of street geometry on ambient temperatures and on daytime pedestrian comfort levels was evaluated, using the sky-view factor (SVF) as indicator of the complexity of the urban geometry. The impact of street orientation relative to prevailing winds and the resulting effects of ventilation (air speed and spatial distribution) on the dispersion of traffic-generated air pollutants were additionally analyzed by means of computer simulations. Results show the impact of urban geometry on human thermal comfort in pedestrian streets and on the outcomes of pollutant dispersion scenarios.     

Impact of building regulations on the perceived outdoor thermal comfort in the mixed-use neighbourhood of Chennai

The population in urban areas is increasing rapidly around the world in most of the cities. In India, this growth has forced the local governments to review the planning norms regularly with the main focus of making an affordable urban living. This resulted in increasing the built density without evaluating the effect of such developments on human thermal comfort. Outdoor microclimate is one of the significant factors that determine the quality of outdoor spaces. This study investigates the potential impact of the built geometry guided by the newly published development control rules of Chennai, India on the various parameters that influence microclimate. The existing and future scenario has been modelled for three locations in a typical mixed-use neighborhood of Chennai. Further, air temperature and relative humidity were measured in three locations on a typical summer month of May 2018. The recorded data was used for validating the simulated model and calibrating the model settings. Most of the studies on outdoor thermal comfort compare a base case scenario and project future scenarios. This paper is a more realistic comparison of outdoor thermal comfort between the actual resultant built environment guided by the new Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules, 2019 for selected locations and the existing built geometry which is the outcome of revised development control rules of 2013. The study found a significant reduction of 18 C in mean radiant temperature (Tmrt) and a reduction of 12 C in Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) between the 2013 and the predicted built geometry as per 2019 building rules. Further the duration of extreme heat stress in the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) scale show a reduction of 3 h during the day time. The study will assist urban planners and designers to include outdoor thermal comfort also as an important factor while developing building rules.     

Effect of personal and microclimatic variables on observed thermal sensation from a field study in southern Brazil

Urban climate, which is influenced by land use patterns, heat-generating activities, and the physical texture of urban fabric, has a great impact on outdoor comfort as well as on a building’s energy consumption. A climate-responsive urban planning can provide optimal, comfortable thermal conditions not only for the permanence of humans in outdoor spaces but also reducing the need of air conditioning systems in buildings. The purpose of this article is to present results of an outdoor comfort research with passers-by in downtown Curitiba, Brazil (25°31′S, 917m elevation). Urban locations have been monitored regarding standard comfort variables: air temperature and humidity, wind speed and globe temperature. Alongside the quantitative assessment of comfort conditions, a survey of pedestrian’s thermal comfort perception according to ISO 10551 was carried out on each monitoring campaign by means of questionnaires with the local population. As a whole, from fourteen monitoring campaigns using a couple of weather stations, beginning on January 9 through August 12, 1654 valid comfort votes were obtained. In this paper, we perform a data consistency check, evaluating the relationship between personal (gender and age of respondents) and objective, microclimatic (comfort variables) factors on observed thermal sensation.     

The effect of Urban Heat Island mitigation strategies on outdoor human thermal comfort in the city of Baghdad

Todays, most Iraqi cities suffer from extremely hot-dry climate for long periods throughout the year. However, most urban patterns that exist inside these cities are not suitable for this harsh conditions and lead to an increase in the value of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) index. Consequently, this will increase outdoor human thermal discomfort as well as energy consumption and air pollution in cities. This study attempts to evaluate the effect of UHI mitigation strategies on outdoor human thermal comfort in three different common types of urban patterns in the biggest and most populated city in Iraq, Baghdad. Three different mitigation strategies are used here – vegetation, cool materials, and urban geometry – to build 18 different scenarios. Three-dimensional numerical software ENVI-met 4.2 is utilised to analyse and assess the studied parameters. The input data for simulations process are based on two meteorological stations in Baghdad: Iraqi Meteorological Organization & Seismology, and Iraqi Agrometeorological Network. All measurements are taken in a pedestrian walkway. The results of different scenarios are compared based on their effect on human thermal comfort. Outdoor thermal comfort is assessed according to Predicted Mean Vote index, as mentioned in ISO 7730 standard. This study provides a better understanding of the role of UHI mitigation strategies on human thermal comfort in the outdoor spaces of Baghdad's residential neighbourhoods. This can help generate guidelines of urban design and planning practices for better thermal performance in hot and dry cities.     

Evaluation of coupled outdoor and indoor thermal comfort environment and anthropogenic heat

With rapid urbanization, big cities in the south of China are progressively falling short of sustaining outdoor thermal comfort. In this paper, a thermal comfort and energy evaluation model is derived from revisions of previous study, to simulate and predict the interaction of coupled urban building-site climate and then the thermal comfort. The methodology of principal calculations is demonstrated first, then a hypothetical district of office buildings in Shanghai is selected. Dynamic on-site climate parameters, anthropogenic heat and indoor/outdoor SET* values, etc., are simulated and evaluated. The results show the variation of outdoor SET* values influenced by factors including canopy height, building coverage and air-conditioning set-point temperature.     

感知控制对湿热地区户外庭园空间热舒适性的影响——以华侨大学“世外·花缘”生活实验室为例

户外热舒适对城市景观空间的使用具有显著影响。目前对户外热舒适的研究较少考虑感知控制(Perceived Control)的影响作用。通过在选定实验区域内对志愿者进行问卷调查,分析感知控制对庭园空间热舒适的影响。结果表明：1)感知控制对湿热地区庭园空间的夏季中性温度具有一定影响,但对秋、冬季中性温度影响微弱;2)感知控制受限会导致热感觉的敏感程度增强,热舒适范围变窄;3)在中性温度范围附近,感知控制对热舒适感的影响十分微弱,而在热感觉为“冷”“凉”“暖”“热”的热环境中,感知控制对不适感具有一定缓解作用;4)感知控制在一定程度上扩大了人们对庭园热环境的可接受范围,当感知控制受限时,人们对热环境的接受度会有所下降。     

Predicting thermal and energy performance of mixed-mode ventilation using an integrated simulation approach

Mixed-mode ventilation can effectively reduce energy consumption in buildings, as well as improve thermal comfort and productivity of occupants. This study predicts thermal and energy performance of mixed-mode ventilation by integrating computational fluid dynamics (CFD) with energy simulation. In the simulation of change-over mixed-mode ventilation, it is critical to determine whether outdoor conditions are suitable for natural ventilation at each time step. This study uses CFD simulations to search for the outdoor temperature thresholds when natural ventilation alone is adequate for thermal comfort. The temperature thresholds for wind-driven natural ventilation are identified by a heat balance model, in which air change rate (ACH) is explicitly computed by CFD considering the influence of the surrounding buildings. In buoyancy-driven natural ventilation, the outdoor temperature thresholds are obtained directly from CFD-based parametric analysis. The integrated approach takes advantage of both the CFD algorithm and energy simulation while maintaining low levels of complexity, enabling building designers to utilize this method for early-stage decisionmaking. This paper first describes the workflow of the proposed integrated approach, followed by two case studies, which are presented using a three-floor office building in an urban context. The results are compared with those using an energy simulation program with built-in multizone modules for natural ventilation. Additionally, adaptive thermal comfort models are applied in these case studies, which shows the possibility of further reducing the electricity used for cooling.     

基于风速补偿的自然通风房间热舒适性模拟研究

为获得自然通风条件下室内的热舒适评价方法,利用Fluent软件,根据杭州市典型室外气象参数确定边界条件,模拟居住建筑室外绕流场、室内通风场和温度场的分布规律;运用基于风速补偿的热适应性评价模型分析室内热舒适状况,并将此法与PMV模型结果对比,表明前者定义舒适的阈值较小,且正向偏离较大,后者则能较好反映自然通风房间的热环境。     

Shading effect on long-term outdoor thermal comfort

Shading affects outdoor thermal environments and, therefore, influences the thermal perceptions of people in outdoor spaces. Since most field studies examining outdoor thermal comfort merely elucidated characteristics measured on a particular day, these studies may not represent annual thermal conditions accurately. Therefore, this study conducted 12 field experiments to analyze outdoor thermal conditions on a university campus in central Taiwan, and utilized RayMan model for predicting long-term thermal comfort applying meteorological data for a 10-year period. The physiologically equivalent temperature (PET) is employed as a thermal index. The thermal comfort range of Taiwanese residents obtained in a previous survey was applied as the criterion for determining whether a thermal environment is comfortable or uncomfortable. Analytical results indicate that the sky view factor (SVF), which represents the percentage of free sky at specific locations, significantly affects outdoor thermal environments. Analytical results indicate that a high SVF (barely shaded) causes discomfort in summer and a low SVF (highly shaded) causes discomfort in winter. As Taiwan has hot summers and mild winters, sufficient shading should be provided by trees and buildings to improve thermal comfort in summer. However, since the Taiwanese have poor tolerance of cold temperature, outdoor space planning should avoid creating areas with excessive shading. Therefore, the thermal requirements of residents and characteristics of the local climate and environment must be considered when creating shaded outdoor areas.     

校园行道树对夏季室外行人热舒适的 影响研究

道路绿地作为城市绿地的重要组成部分,在缓解城市热岛和改善行人热舒适等方面起着重要作用。通过监测大学校园内7种典型行道树树荫和阳光下的空气温度(T_a)、相对湿度(RH)、风速(V_a)、黑球温度(T_g)和太阳辐射(G)等气象参数以及行道树的叶表面温度(T_(1s),运用通用热气候指数(Universal Thermal Climate Index,UTCI)分析不同行道树对道路空间热环境的影响和行人热舒适的改善效果。结论如下:1)行道树改善道路空间行人热舒适作用明显,对T_a和平均辐射温度(Mean Radiant Temperature,T_(mrt)降低能力最强的树种分别为悬铃木和银杏;2)天空可视因子(Sky View Factor,SVF)是影响道路空间行人热舒适的主要因素;3)T_(1s)与UTCI呈强线性正相关(R~2=0.8083),夏季T_(1s)越高,道路空间行人热舒适度越差。研究结果从室外热舒适评价的角度为行道树设计提供了理论基础和量化指导。     

Impact of building regulations on the perceived outdoor thermal comfort in the mixed-use neighbourhood of Chennai

The population in urban areas is increasing rapidly around the world in most of the cities.In India,this growth has forced the local governments to review the planning norms regularly with the main focus of making an affordable urban living.This resulted in increasing the built density without evaluating the effect of such developments on human thermal com-fort.Outdoor microclimate is one of the significant factors that determine the quality of out-door spaces.This study investigates the potential impact of the built geometry guided by the newly published development control rules of Chennai,India on the various parameters that influence microclimate.The existing and future scenario has been modelled for three locations in a typical mixed-use neighborhood of Chennai.Further,air temperature and relative humid-ity were measured in three locations on a typical summer month of May 2018.The recorded data was used for validating the simulated model and calibrating the model settings.Most of the studies on outdoor thermal comfort compare a base case scenario and project future scenarios.This paper is a more realistic comparison of outdoor thermal comfort between the actual resultant built environment guided by the new Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules,2019 for selected locations and the existing built geometry which is the outcome of revised development control rules of 2013.The study found a significant reduction of 18℃in mean radiant temperature(Tmrt)and a reduction of 12℃in Physiological Equiv-alent Temperature(PET)between the 2013 and the predicted built geometry as per 2019 build-ing rules.Further the duration of extreme heat stress in the Physiological Equivalent Temperature(PET)scale show a reduction of 3 h during the day time.The study will assist ur-ban planners and designers to include outdoor thermal comfort also as an important factor while developing building rules.     

A simple technique to classify urban locations with respect to human thermal comfort: Proposing the HXG scale

An attempt is made to present a new scale to study urban microclimates and outdoor thermal comfort using simple in-situ measurement data. For this purpose, six urban locations with distinct physical characteristics are selected in a metropolitan city, Chennai. At each location, three streets with diverse orientations (North–south; East–west and Northeast–southwest) are identified and their microclimatic conditions are monitored during the summer months of April, May and June. The variations in microclimate are studied using ANOVA single factor test and later, correlated with the site’s physical characteristics. The assessment of microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort is done using Physiological equivalent temperature (PET).     

湿热地区老年人夏季室外热舒适阈值研究

旨在探索湿热地区老年人夏季室外热舒适阈值。以课题示范工程、样本量集中的广州市老人院为研究案例,结合现场实测与问卷调研,获得各气象要素（空气温度、相对湿度、黑球温度、风速）的逐时数据及老年人室外热舒适状况;借助Rayman模型,计算生理等效温度PET,运用SPSS进行回归分析建立老年人室外热舒适评价模型;并评析不同类型测点空间的热环境情况与特点。结论如下：（1）湿热地区夏季老年人室外热环境中性PET值为25.60℃;台湾、香港、广州等湿热气候地区,老年人与混合年龄层中性PET值接近,人群中性PET值具有一定普适性;（2）老年人热感觉中性范围为23.79℃~27.41℃,较混合年龄层窄;老年人室外环境热舒适PET范围为22.70℃~32.53℃,老年人对偏凉感觉（PET=23.10℃）更感舒适;老年人达到90%可接受率的PET范围是22.62℃~31.15℃;（3）老年人夏季热敏感度为3.62PET（℃）/TSV,夏季老年人对室外热环境敏感度明显高于混合年龄层,因此室外热环境设计对老年人具有更大影响;（4）在适当遮荫条件（植物或建筑）下,老年人在夏季依然乐于接受室外阳光辐射;但需综合运用遮阳、通风、降温等设计策略才能满足老年人对热环境的舒适需求。以期为湿热地区室外环境适老设计提供研究方法和设计目标的参考。     

Modeling urban microclimate to ameliorate thermal sensation conditions in outdoor areas in Athens (Greece)

Previous research that conducted in three typical public areas in Athens showed that the acceptable air temperature range that determines thermal comfort varies among 17.0–21.0 °C and 26.0–32.0 °C for the cool and the warm period of the year, respectively. The present research goes further and determines the acceptable environmental conditions via two wide acknowledged thermal indices, which are PET and UTCI, in order to evaluate, whether or not, thermal comfort conditions are presented in three typical outdoor urban areas of a Mediterranean city, like Athens. Thus, environmental model ENVI-met 3.1 was applied to calculate the daily microclimatic variation of the three examined areas for the same dates, one typical for the warm period and one typical for the cool period. Thermal sensation conditions were then assessed by the indices. Results showed that the examined areas approach the acceptable environmental conditions only for the cool day, whereas an assumed urban design scenario was able only to ameliorate thermal discomfort but not to reach thermal comfort during a hot day.     

Application of human thermal load into unsteady condition for improvement of outdoor thermal comfort

Human thermal comfort is studied as a countermeasure to the thermal stress in outdoor urban space. Outdoors, people experience the strong impact of solar radiation in states that are unsteady and non-uniform. The feeling of comfort is a mixed sensation that can be easier to improve overall, as compared with a global large-scale effort, and can lead to improved ways of saving energy and reducing costs. Moreover, this can be directly beneficial to human experience and fulfill natural human desires. Since a thermal comfort index is a useful tool for understanding the present state and evaluating the impact of countermeasures, we examine the effects of the human thermal load, which is a thermal comfort index based on the energy balance of the human body. In a steady state, and even in an unsteady state with its variations in weather and human factors, thermal comfort values can generally be obtained by using the overall human thermal load. The reason for this is that the human thermal load takes physiological factors in account as well as weather parameters. This leads to the idea that thermal sensations follow from the human thermal load, which can then well describe a given human environment. As a result, human sensations as expressed by the human thermal load pave the way to the creation of comfortable urban spaces that require minimum expense and energy as an example of simple heat transport model focusing on urban outer structure.