The Importance of Standardised Data-Collection Methods in the Improvement of Thermal Comfort Assessment Models for Developing Countries in the Tropics
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
This study aims to assert the importance of standardised data-collection methods in the improvement of thermal comfort assessment models for developing countries in the tropics. But, the reviewer was not convinced the importance with current manuscript.
Firstly, the reviewer recommend re-organization of the manuscript. Academic article normally consists of following structure: Introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. Please re-organize this article following above structure for better understanding of readers.
Lines 279-280: Please describe the details of ASHRAE standard 55. Which parameters should be measured and which equipments should be used for measuring them. And also, why ASHRAE standard 55 is not appropriate for assessing thermal comfort of building in tropical region?
Concerning case studies, which sensors are used for data acquisition? Please describe accuracy of each sensor used in the study.
The reviewer could not find novelty of "New data-collection tools" suggested in the paper. Clear description about details, process and methodologies about it is needed.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you very much for your valuable comments. We have adjusted and improved the document in terms of structure, style and content in each of the recommended areas (please see the amended document with track changes). The main modifications are listed as follows:
Structure and style
The manuscript was re-organised with a clearer academic structure.
The quality of most of the figures was improved.
The text was professionally proofread for grammar and spelling errors (UK English).
All references were checked for accuracy and completeness and inserted with the Mendeley plugin to allow easier editing.
Content
Background
The literature review was divided into three clearer sections (Context of the case study, Thermal comfort assessment models, and The problem). Some minor changes were made to reinforce the central argument in this section.
Research design and methods
The research strategy and methods were better outlined to form section 3, which describes the approach for the fieldwork carried out, the data collection tools used, and the variables studied.
The choice of projects for the case study was supported with clearer arguments in section 3.1.
We added table 2 to show the parameters and equipment recommended by the ASHRAE 55 for environmental measurements. This table also indicates which parameters are typically used for thermal comfort assessment with the static and adaptive models. Additionally, it specifies the equipment that we employed (range and accuracy) during the projects of the case study.
We added table 3 to illustrate the survey samples suggested by the ASHRAE Standard 55 to measure occupant´s satisfaction. We explain here the limitations and disadvantages that we found with these surveys. This aims to contextualise our work in light of the advances that we propose.
Furthermore, we changed figure 5 to show all the range of alternative data-collection tools that we used in the projects of the case study.
Results
Table 4 was added in this section to better explain the capabilities, content and scope of these proposed data-collection tools. This aims to support their novelty, explain the adaptations made and show how they complement each other.
The data analysis section was improved with examples of the processed data resulting from applying an alternative theory of environmental satisfaction. Figure 8 was included to illustrate these data.
Additional evidence for both physical measurements and surveys in all the projects was provided and discussed to better support the findings.
Figure 9 was included to show the study of potential solutions and retrofit scenarios in project 1, through dynamic thermal simulations with EnergyPlus™.
Figure 10 was added to indicate examples of the analysis made in projects 3 and 4, based on thermographic and regular photographs.
Discussions and Conclusions
This section was restructured and extended with additional arguments to better explain and support our central statement: the importance of standardised data-collection methods for the development of more suitable thermal comfort policy in tropical countries, such as Colombia.
We included a discussion on possible steps to take in order to overcome existing limitations and eventually achieve the proposed goal.
Adjustments made regarding specific recommendations
RECOMMENDATION | ACTION |
Re-organization of the manuscript. Academic article normally consists of following structure: Introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. Please re-organize this article following above structure for better understanding of readers. | The manuscript was re-organised into five sections: 1. Introduction, 2. Literature review, 3. Methods, 4. Results and 5. Discussion and conclusions.
|
Lines 279-280: Please describe the details of ASHRAE standard 55. Which parameters should be measured and which equipments should be used for measuring them. | Table 2 was added to show this information. |
why ASHRAE standard 55 is not appropriate for assessing thermal comfort of building in tropical region? | The limitations of the data collection methods suggested by the ASHRAE standard 55 were highlighted in Table 3. |
Concerning case studies, which sensors are used for data acquisition? Please describe accuracy of each sensor used in the study. | This information was included in Table 2. |
The reviewer could not find novelty of "New data-collection tools" suggested in the paper. Clear description about details, process and methodologies about it is needed. | · Figure 5 was improved to show all the range of alternative data-collection tools used. · Table 4 was added to better explain the capabilities, content and scope of these proposed data-collection tools. · Further evidence and arguments were added throughout the text aiming to support the novelty and contribution of the presented work. |
Reviewer 2 Report
This paper is questioning about applying static and adaptive thermal comfort standards (ASHRAE Standard 55 and EN 15251) within tropical climate of Colombia.
To this end, surveys were carried out to collect data from occupants of four buildings (two apartment buildings and two school buildings) located in Bogota city.
In addition, building’s physical conditions (weather data, and indoor temperature and relative humidity) were measured.
The main results consist of indoor conditions compared to thermal comfort ranges given by thermal comfort standards. Some results of the surveys are also given and discussed.
This study is interesting as a whole and could deserve au publication in Sustainability International Journal.
Nevertheless, I suggest amendments indicated below.
- Line 244: it is said that EnergyPlus software was used in order to explore passive solutions but nothing is discussed in the paper. Please, could you comment this point ?
- Results given in Figure 7 are unclear:
- Please, specify how are obtained the data given and to which they correspond exactly
- Please, why there are very low differences with orientations and storey ?
- The results given are too few to draw reliable conclusions. More data must be given and discussed for both physical variables and thermal comfort sensation from the surveys
- Line 302: the changes made to the ASHRAE questionnaire must be described in detail and discussed
- Reference [33] is incomplete
- Lines 67 and 114: please, to which figures do you refer?
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you very much for your valuable comments. We have adjusted and improved the document in terms of structure, style and content in each of the recommended areas (please see the amended document with track changes). The main modifications are listed as follows:
Structure and style
The manuscript was re-organised with a clearer academic structure.
The quality of most of the figures was improved.
The text was professionally proofread for grammar and spelling errors (UK English).
All references were checked for accuracy and completeness and inserted with the Mendeley plugin to allow easier editing.
Content
Background
The literature review was divided into three clearer sections (Context of the case study, Thermal comfort assessment models, and The problem). Some minor changes were made to reinforce the central argument in this section
Research design and methods
The research strategy and methods were better outlined to form section 3, which describes the approach for the fieldwork carried out, the data collection tools used, and the variables studied.
The choice of projects for the case study was supported with clearer arguments in section 3.1.
We added table 2 to show the parameters and equipment recommended by the ASHRAE 55 for environmental measurements. This table also indicates which parameters are typically used for thermal comfort assessment with the static and adaptive models. Additionally, it specifies the equipment that we employed (range and accuracy) during the projects of the case study.
We added table 3 to illustrate the survey samples suggested by the ASHRAE Standard 55 to measure occupant´s satisfaction. We explain here the limitations and disadvantages that we found with these surveys. This aims to contextualise our work in light of the advances that we propose.
Furthermore, we changed figure 5 to show all the range of alternative data-collection tools that we used in the projects of the case study.
Results
Table 4 was added in this section to better explain the capabilities, content and scope of these proposed data-collection tools. This aims to support their novelty, explain the adaptations made and show how they complement each other.
The data analysis section was improved with examples of the processed data resulting from applying an alternative theory of environmental satisfaction. Figure 8 was included to illustrate these data.
Additional evidence for both physical measurements and surveys in all the projects was provided and discussed to better support the findings.
Figure 9 was included to show the study of potential solutions and retrofit scenarios in project 1, through dynamic thermal simulations with EnergyPlus™.
Figure 10 was added to indicate examples of the analysis made in projects 3 and 4, based on thermographic and regular photographs.
Discussions and Conclusions
This section was restructured and extended with additional arguments to better explain and support our central statement: the importance of standardised data-collection methods for the development of more suitable thermal comfort policy in tropical countries, such as Colombia.
We included a discussion on possible steps to take in order to overcome existing limitations and eventually achieve the proposed goal.
Adjustments made regarding specific recommendations
RECOMMENDATION | ACTION |
Line 244: it is said that EnergyPlus software was used in order to explore passive solutions but nothing is discussed in the paper. Please, could you comment this point ? | The explored solutions mentioned were described in more detail in the text and the results of the dynamic thermal simulations with EnergyPlus™ were shown in Figure 9. |
Results given in Figure 7 are unclear: - Please, specify how are obtained the data given and to which they correspond exactly - Please, why there are very low differences with orientations and storey ? | The results shown in Figure 7 were better explained in the text, regarding the source of the data and the differences found according to apartments´ location and orientation. |
The results given are too few to draw reliable conclusions. More data must be given and discussed for both physical variables and thermal comfort sensation from the surveys
| Further evidence and arguments were added throughout the text aiming to support the novelty and contribution of the presented work and the suggested need for standardised data-collection methods to aid the development of more suitable policy. |
Reference [33] is incomplete | Reference completed (Number [20] in the amended document) |
Lines 67 and 114: please, to which figures do you refer?
| The word “figures” in this sentence referred to statistical figures. We understand why this can lead to confusion since we are also introducing Figure 1 (AC consumption) in this paragraph. Therefore, we have changed this term to “data”. |
Again, thank you for your contribution to improving the manuscript.
Best regards,
The authors
Reviewer 3 Report
This was a well-structured article, clearly explaining the rationale for the research and the methodology adopted. The problems encountered in the monitoring of buildings (particularly schools) were documented, and the lack of guidelines for tropical regions became evident as a result of this study.
The conclusion could include more on the next steps in order to overcome these problems. Is it simply a case of conducting more fieldwork studies in these regions, or would a bigger, more comprehensive plan be required? Or is this problem solvable by doing more dynamic thermal simulation modelling?
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thank you very much for your valuable comments. We have adjusted and improved the document in terms of structure, style and content in each of the recommended areas (please see the amended document with track changes). The main modifications are listed as follows:
Structure and style
The manuscript was re-organised with a clearer academic structure.
The quality of most of the figures was improved.
The text was professionally proofread for grammar and spelling errors (UK English).
All references were checked for accuracy and completeness and inserted with the Mendeley plugin to allow easier editing.
Content
Background
The literature review was divided into three clearer sections (Context of the case study, Thermal comfort assessment models, and The problem). Some minor changes were made to reinforce the central argument in this section
Research design and methods
The research strategy and methods were better outlined to form section 3, which describes the approach for the fieldwork carried out, the data collection tools used, and the variables studied.
The choice of projects for the case study was supported with clearer arguments in section 3.1.
We added table 2 to show the parameters and equipment recommended by the ASHRAE 55 for environmental measurements. This table also indicates which parameters are typically used for thermal comfort assessment with the static and adaptive models. Additionally, it specifies the equipment that we employed (range and accuracy) during the projects of the case study.
We added table 3 to illustrate the survey samples suggested by the ASHRAE Standard 55 to measure occupant´s satisfaction. We explain here the limitations and disadvantages that we found with these surveys. This aims to contextualise our work in light of the advances that we propose.
Furthermore, we changed figure 5 to show all the range of alternative data-collection tools that we used in the projects of the case study.
Results
Table 4 was added in this section to better explain the capabilities, content and scope of these proposed data-collection tools. This aims to support their novelty, explain the adaptations made and show how they complement each other.
The data analysis section was improved with examples of the processed data resulting from applying an alternative theory of environmental satisfaction. Figure 8 was included to illustrate these data.
Additional evidence for both physical measurements and surveys in all the projects was provided and discussed to better support the findings.
Figure 9 was included to show the study of potential solutions and retrofit scenarios in project 1, through dynamic thermal simulations with EnergyPlus™.
Figure 10 was added to indicate examples of the analysis made in projects 3 and 4, based on thermographic and regular photographs.
Discussions and Conclusions
This section was restructured and extended with additional arguments to better explain and support our central statement: the importance of standardised data-collection methods for the development of more suitable thermal comfort policy in tropical countries, such as Colombia.
We included a discussion on possible steps to take in order to overcome existing limitations and eventually achieve the proposed goal.
Adjustments made regarding specific recommendations
RECOMMENDATION | ACTION |
The conclusion could include more on the next steps in order to overcome these problems. Is it simply a case of conducting more fieldwork studies in these regions, or would a bigger, more comprehensive plan be required? Or is this problem solvable by doing more dynamic thermal simulation modelling?
| We included a more compelling discussion on the possible steps to take in order to overcome existing limitations regarding thermal comfort assessment in tropical countries such as Colombia. We think that the problem relies on the lack of reliable data on the different variables that affect comfort. In order to obtain this data, we argue that independent and officially lead initiatives are needed to support further structured fieldwork. As you mentioned, a more comprehensive plan is required in this case. |
Again, thank you for your contribution to improving the manuscript.
Best regards,
The authors
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
This paper is well revised. I appreciate for authors' effort for revision.
Reviewer 2 Report
The paper was improved and now is acceptable for publication
