This paper investigated the effects of gender, age, seasonal differences and exposure of occupants to heat absorbed in the roof, on their thermal responses in naturally ventilated apartments. A simple linear regression was conducted to estimate the comfort temperatures and comfort range of the surveyed subjects. A year-round study, involving over 55 apartments and 71 subjects, had collated a data-set of 852 in total. The findings revealed that females are more sensitive to the environmental changes as compared to the male subjects, although both categories have shown a negligible difference in the neutral temperatures. Similarly, the elderly were found to have a narrow comfort range and high thermal sensitivity. The slope of the regression (indicating the thermal sensitivity) was observed to be higher in the summer (0.23/℃) and monsoon period (0.31/℃) and lower in the winter period (0.15/℃). The exposure to temperature near the roof was shown to have exhibited some significant impact on the thermal perception of occupants.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract