Indoor Thermal Comfort and Adaptive Thermal Behaviors of Students in Primary Schools Located in the Humid Subtropical Climate of India
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area and Climatic Conditions
2.2. Observed School Buildings and Classrooms
2.3. Thermal Comfort and Questionnaire Surveys
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Indoor Thermal Conditions during Field Surveys
3.2. Students’ Thermal Sensations and Preferences
3.3. Relation between Mean Thermal Metrics of Each Class and Temperature
3.4. Students’ Temperature Sensitivity by Grade
3.5. Students’ Thermal Satisfaction and Summer Heat Risk
3.6. Students’ Thermal Adaptive Behaviors
4. Conclusions
- According to ASHRAE 55, the indoor thermal conditions of the surveyed classrooms were outside of the comfort range during the winter survey for an 80% acceptability limit, whereas only 6% of the samples were collected under an 80% thermal acceptability range in the summer. Furthermore, 95.1% of the samples in the summer survey were under the condition of an HI over 91 °F, indicating a heat risk level of either “extreme caution” or “danger”.
- The votes on thermal satisfaction indicated that “slightly satisfied”, “satisfied”, and “very satisfied” made up the majority for all of the TSV scales for both summer and winter. The highest satisfaction was for TSV = 0 (neutral), with 97.5% and 75.2% satisfaction in winter and summer, respectively.
- The fraction of each TSV and TPV level for the binned indoor air temperature range did not indicate a monotonic relationship between the TSV/TPV and air temperature. The results of the ROC analysis also showed relatively low AUC values, suggesting that some students could not differentiate between the degree of hot and cold under different temperature conditions, especially during the summer season. Nevertheless, the regression line plotted between air temperature and mean values of TSV for each class suggests a clear positive correlation, with the gradients varying from 0.030/°C to 0.114/°C attributed to different students’ school grades.
- In terms of thermal adaptive behaviors, closing the windows and wearing extra, thicker garments with a clo value ranging from 1.02 to 1.77 were popular methods for the students to mitigate the cold indoor air temperature in the classrooms. In contrast, 40% of students preferred to increase the speed of fans to achieve thermal comfort during the summer season.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Researchers | Location | Temperature Range Surveyed | Survey Samples | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|
Humphreys (1977) [16] | United Kingdom | Tair: 14–26 °C | Age 7–9, 10,000 responses, 262 students | Regression gradient against Tair for each gender and classroom ranged from 0.09 to 0.51 per °C, suggesting the slightly higher sensitivity of females. The diversity of thermal sensitivity among students is also illustrated by the distribution of regression gradients for individuals. |
Hwang et al. (2009) [17] | Taichung, Taiwan | Top: 15–34 °C | Age 11–17, 3754 responses, 1614 students | Survey in 14 naturally ventilated classrooms. The students’ thermal sensations based on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) 7-grade TSVs were formulated for three conditions, suggesting a wide range of neutral temperature bands (22.7–29.1 °C). MTSV = 0.17 Top—3.94, R2 = 0.93 (15 < Top < 23 °C) MTSV = 0.01 Top—0.30, R2 = 0.04 (15 < Top < 23 °C) MTSV = 0.35 Top—10.27, R2 = 0.89 (29 < Top < 34 °C). |
Mors et al. (2011) [6] | Eindhoven, Netherland | Top: 19–30 °C | Age 9–11, 1300 responses, 79 students | Survey in non-air-conditioned classrooms. TSVs collected in mid-season and summer indicated the underestimation of PMV method especially for summer. Moreover, the discrepancy between the current adaptive thermal comfort assessment methods with the observed TSVs was revealed. |
Teli et al. (2012) [18] | Southampton, United Kingdom | Top: 19–29 °C | Age 7–11, 1314 responses, 230 students | Survey in eight naturally ventilated classrooms. The comfort temperatures derived from MTSV were about 4 °C lower than those based on standard PMV. |
Liang et al. (2012) [19] | Taichung, Taiwan | Top: 24–29 °C Tmean: 16–28 °C | Age 12–17, 3754 responses 1614 students | Survey in 48 naturally ventilated classrooms. The linear regression between TSV * and Top for 5 months from September to January was presented. TSV * = 0.288 Top—8.393, R2 = 0.89 for Sep. (Top 29–33.7 °C) TSV * = 0.168 Top—3.695, R2 = 0.94 for Jan. (Top 17.6–23 °C). The gradients for November were exceptionally close to zero. The neutral temperature (Tneu) identified by TSVs for September was 29.2 °C, which is 2.3 °C higher than the ASHRAE 55, while Tneu for January was 22.4 °C, which was closer to the ASHRAE 55 (23 °C). |
Alfano et al. (2013) [20] | Campania, Italy | Top: 16–31 °C | Age 11–18, 4000 students, 200 classrooms | Survey in naturally ventilated classrooms. MTSV = 0.107 Top—2.13, R2 = 0.42 The percentages of dissatisfaction (PPDs) based on the questionaire are higher than the suggested level in ASHRAE 55. |
Teli et al. (2014) [21] | Southampton, United Kingdom | Top: 17–26 °C | Age 7–11, 2990 responses | Survey in two schools with different construction types. MTSVs–Top and MTPVs-Top relations showed positive and negative correlation with broad scatter. The preferred temperature determined by MTPVs was higher by 2 °C than Tneu determined by MTSVs, suggesting students’ preference toward warmth. |
Yun et al. (2014) [22] | Seoul, Korea | Tair: 22–29 °C | Age 4–6, 119 children | Survey in kindergartens. Children’s comfort temperature was lower by about 3 °C than that for adults. PMV estimations did not agree well with the children’s sensation votes. |
Wang et al. (2017) [23] | Three provinces of Northwest China | Top: 6–17 °C, 6–17 °C, 9–23 °C for three locations | Age 9–16, 1126 students | Survey in schools with and without heating systems. The linear regression analysis on MTSV-Top was carried out for three locations, suggesting smaller temperature sensitivity of actual votes compared to PMV. |
Kim and de Dear (2018) [24] | New South Wales, Australia | Tdiff: −8–8 °C | Age 10–18, 2206 responses | Naturally ventilated and mixed-mode conditions. TSV = 0.16 Tdiff + 0.24, R2 = 0.79 (primary school) TSV = −0.15 Tdiff + 0.12, R2 = 0.74 (secondary school). |
Jindal (2018) [25] | Ambala, India | Top: 13.5–20 °C and 26–33.5 °C | Age 10–18, 640 responses, 130 students | Survey in naturally ventilated classrooms. TSV = 0.19 Top—5.54, R2 = 0.18 (monsoon) TSV = 0.18 Top—3.52, R2 = 0.36 (winter). |
Nematchoua et al. (2018) [26] | Northern Madagascar | Tair: 20.5–32.4 °C | Age 15–75, 1100 responses | Survey in school and traditional buildings with naturally ventilated mode. TSV = 0.28 Top—7.006, R2 = 0.94 (school buildings) TSV = 0.22 Top—5.316, R2 = 0.87 (traditional buildings) |
Season | Age | Number of Responses | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Male | Female | Total | ||
Winter | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
7 | 32 | 13 | 45 | |
8 | 150 | 137 | 287 | |
9 | 310 | 316 | 626 | |
10 | 395 | 358 | 753 | |
11 | 153 | 125 | 278 | |
12 | 27 | 17 | 44 | |
13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
Summer | 6 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
7 | 83 | 129 | 212 | |
8 | 335 | 268 | 603 | |
9 | 488 | 481 | 969 | |
10 | 557 | 385 | 942 | |
11 | 225 | 142 | 367 | |
12 | 35 | 33 | 68 | |
Total | 2741 | 2556 | 5297 |
TSV | TPV | |
---|---|---|
+3 | Very hot | |
+2 | Hot | Much warmer |
+1 | Warm | Bit warmer |
0 | Neutral | No change |
−1 | Cool | Bit cooler |
−2 | Cold | Much cooler |
−3 | Very cold |
Parameter Measured | Name and Series | Range | Accuracy |
---|---|---|---|
Indoor air temperature | T and D, TR72wf-S | −25 to 70 °C | ±0.3 °C at 10 to 40 °C |
Outdoor air temperature | T and D, TR-5i | −40 to 80 °C | ±0.5 °C |
Indoor relative humidity | T and D, TR72wf-S | 0 to 99% | ±2.5% RH at 15 to 35 °C |
Indoor air velocity | Kanomax Climomaster, 6501 | 0.01 to 50 m/s | ±2% reading or ±0.015 m/s |
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Lala, B.; Murtyas, S.; Hagishima, A. Indoor Thermal Comfort and Adaptive Thermal Behaviors of Students in Primary Schools Located in the Humid Subtropical Climate of India. Sustainability 2022, 14, 7072. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127072
Lala B, Murtyas S, Hagishima A. Indoor Thermal Comfort and Adaptive Thermal Behaviors of Students in Primary Schools Located in the Humid Subtropical Climate of India. Sustainability. 2022; 14(12):7072. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127072
Chicago/Turabian StyleLala, Betty, Solli Murtyas, and Aya Hagishima. 2022. "Indoor Thermal Comfort and Adaptive Thermal Behaviors of Students in Primary Schools Located in the Humid Subtropical Climate of India" Sustainability 14, no. 12: 7072. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127072
APA StyleLala, B., Murtyas, S., & Hagishima, A. (2022). Indoor Thermal Comfort and Adaptive Thermal Behaviors of Students in Primary Schools Located in the Humid Subtropical Climate of India. Sustainability, 14(12), 7072. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14127072