Effect of the Environmental Stimuli upon the Human Body in Winter Outdoor Thermal Environment

Abstract

In order to manage the outdoor thermal environment with regard to human health and the environmental impact of waste heat, quantitative evaluations are indispensable. It is necessary to use a thermal environment evaluation index. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and winter outdoor thermal environment variables. Subjective experiments were conducted in the winter outdoor environment. Environmental factors and human psychological responses were measured. The relationship between the psychological thermal responses of the human body and the outdoor thermal environment index ETFe (enhanced conduction-corrected modified effective temperature) in winter was shown. The variables which influence the thermal sensation vote of the human body are air temperature, long-wave thermal radiation and short-wave solar radiation. The variables that influence the thermal comfort vote of the human body are air temperature, humidity, short-wave solar radiation, long-wave thermal radiation, and heat conduction. Short-wave solar radiation, and heat conduction are among the winter outdoor thermal environment variables that affect psychological responses to heat. The use of thermal environment evaluation indices that comprise short-wave solar radiation and heat conduction in winter outdoor spaces is a valid approach.

Behavioral Thermoregulation Model for Evaluation of Outdoor Thermal Environment

“…ETFe can evaluate the effect of different postures on behavioral thermoregulation in outdoor spaces. Furthermore, verification experiments have been carried out to confirm the relation between ETFe and the physiological and psychological effects on the human body, and its effectiveness as an outdoor environment evaluation factor, including heat conduction from the ground for an outdoor space, has been confirmed [11]. In these verification experiments, heat transfer and short-wave solar radiation were shown to have as great effect an as environmental factors which contribute to the ETF.…”

“…As the behavioral thermoregulation model in this study is an improved Two-Node Model [17,47]. Therefore, this model does not assume that the thermal neutral temperature is much lower than the thermal environment for an indoor environment, the difference with the actual value in a low temperature environment in which the blood vessel contraction coefficient is small, is considered to be large.…”

“…Moreover, the outdoor body heat balance, which was included the outdoor meteorological elements, was theoretically defined by Kurazumi et al [10]. In addition, the validity of using the outdoor body heat balance that incorporates these environmental factors for an outdoor space was demonstrated by Kurazumi et al [11,47]. Therefore, it is also applicable to other environmental factors, etc.…”

The Influence of the Solar Radiation Absorptivity up on the Outdoor Thermal Environment Evaluation Index and the Thermal Sensory Perceptions

“…It has been demonstrated that solar radiation affects the thermal sensory perceptions of the human body in an outdoor space [1]- [8]. In addition, it has been demonstrated that the effects of direct and reflected solar radiation are significant in an outdoor space.…”

“…In addition, the outdoor thermal environment has a strong effect on the thermal and comfort sensations of the human body [9] [10] [11]. It has furthermore been demonstrated that short-wavelength solar radiation becomes significantly stronger as a factor that impacts the thermal environment evaluation index in an outdoor space [7] [8]. According to the effect of albedo, a road surface can become heated to the degree whereby it cannot be touched directly, and sensational and physiological temperature increases.…”