Haddad, S; Osmond, P and King, S (2019) Application of adaptive thermal comfort methods for Iranian schoolchildren. Building Research & Information, 47(2), pp. 173-189. ISSN 0961-3218
Abstract
Recent studies in primary schools highlight a need to develop the adaptive comfort model for schoolchildren in classrooms. This study investigates the application of the principal methods underlying the adaptive comfort theory for children relating thermal comfort indoors to the prevailing mean outdoor temperature. Children’s sensitivity to indoor temperature change are examined using data from a field study conducted in Iranian schools. This sensitivity is used to estimate the comfort temperatures in classroom situations with a minimum level of adaptation. Different metrics for the outdoor climate are employed to understand an expression of the climate which best predicts children’s comfort temperature. A sensitivity analysis is performed to derive the relation between indoor comfort and the climate that gives rise to the strongest correlation coefficient. Although the basic adaptive comfort relationships are applicable for children, the exponential method to calculate the prevailing mean with lower decay values leads to higher correlation with children’s comfort temperature. The slope of children’s comfort equation in relation to outdoor temperature is shown to be shallower than those of adults. Results indicate that children are more sensitive to temperature change within a single school day than across the overall survey period of several days.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | adaptive model; children; climate; comfort temperature; school buildings; school classrooms; standards; thermal comfort |
| Index terms: | sensitivity analysis, indoor temperature, field study, survey, slope, classroom, school building, school classroom, children, adaptation, thermal comfort, comfort, adaptive model, adaptive comfort, estimate |
| Subjects: | environmental hazards, environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, demography, occupational health and safety management, research methods, financial and cost management, environmental science, human factors, user focus, data collection methods, construction type |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Cost Management, Health and Safety, Construction Technology, Sustainability, Design Practice, Urban Studies |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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