Effect of Transient Changes of Air Temperature on Subjective Response of Office Worker in Tropical Country (Case Study: Jakarta, Indonesia)

Vidyarini, Etika; Maeda, Takafumi

doi:10.18502/kls.v4i5.2574

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…In Singapore, the local youth complained of health-related illnesses arising from exposure to air-conditioned spaces (Hitchings and Lee, 2008). The uniformity of climate-controlled indoor environments (or thermal monotony) is also perceived as hindering cultural and microclimate thermal adaptations to a place (Ahadzie et al , 2020; Buonocore et al , 2019; Damiati et al , 2016; Ghaffarian Hoseini et al , 2014; Healy, 2008; Hitchings and Lee, 2008; Vidyarini and Maeda, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sensory and physiological assessment of spatial transient thermal environment changes at a tropical university campus

Dahlan

Ghaffarianhoseini

Hassan

2020

SASBE

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PurposeRecent studies have found that the high demand for air-conditioning usage in tropical countries has affected the thermal adaptability of building occupants to hot weather, and increased building energy consumption. This pilot study aims to investigate the effects of transient thermal environment changes on participants' sensory and physiological responses.Design/methodology/approachThe change of thermal perceptions, skin temperatures and core temperatures when exposed to transient thermal environments (cool-warm-cool) from 10 college-aged female participants during a simulated daily commute by foot to class in a tropical university campus were investigated. Subjective measurements were collected in real-time every 5 min.FindingsThe main finding suggests that participants were acclimatised to cool air-conditioned indoor environments, despite exhibiting significant mean skin temperature differences (p < 0.05). In addition, exposure to uniform air conditioning from 17 to 18°C for 20 min was thermally unacceptable and reduced concentration during given tasks.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on thermal comfort conditions in a uniform air-conditioned lecture hall, and the findings may not be applicable for residential and other private building spaces. The distinct temperature difference between indoor and outdoor in the tropical built environment resulted in high dependence on air-conditioning usage. The building occupants' well-being and energy conservation implications of the findings are discussed.Practical implicationsThis study provides the platform for discussion on the dynamics of occupants' comfort level and adopting a more variable thermal environment in tropical spatial transient thermal environments among architects and building management system managers. The findings from this study may contribute to the Malaysian Standards for Energy Efficiency and Use of Renewable Energy for Non-Residential Buildings (MS1525).Originality/valueA knowledge gap in adaptive thermal comfort due to exposure from transient conditions in tropical university campus for energy efficiency revision has been investigated.

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