Study on wintry comfort temperature and thermal improvement of houses in cold, temperate, and subtropical regions of Nepal

Thermal Comfort Assessment during Winter Season: A Case Study on Portuguese Public Social Housing

“…The thermal fluctuations observed outside reduced the impact on dwellings' overall thermal fluctuations, not exceeding 1 • C-for both non heated or inhabited rooms-which is partly explained by constructive and geometric features, such as the effect of the high thermal mass existing in the exterior walls with insulation and the interior walls, as well as by the moderate amount of glazed area, respectively. The benefit of similar buildings' constructive and geometrical features to minimize adverse cold indoor conditions was also observed by Shahi et al [49], who conducted a field survey in winter for houses located in Nepalese cold, temperate, and subtropical regions, obtaining resultant mean indoor air temperatures of 10.9 • C, 18.0 • C, and 20.0 • C, respectively-which were 6.3 • C, 2.9 • C, and 2.0 • C lower than the average estimated comfort temperature, respectively; although the results showed that a significant increase of indoor air temperature was required for the cold region, its buildings' thermal mass combined with moderate door and window size contributed to a smaller variation in indoor air temperature than for temperate and subtropical region buildings.…”

“…Such an achievement can be found in the study of Rijal [53], who performed a thermal measurement and comfort survey during the winter for traditional vernacular houses exposed to extreme cold climates: indoor conditions presented rigorous cold environments-with 10.7 • C as the mean comfort temperature-but it was noticed that the residents were very satisfied with indoor thermal conditions as a result of successful adaptation behaviours to these buildings-such as proper clothing insulation, eating habits, and proximity to the fire-alongside passive heating effects that were found in some constructive features-this successful combination between adaptive habits and existing constructive features appeared not to have been achieved either in the studied dwellings. Its potential may also have considerable energy repercussions, as the effectiveness of reducing energy poverty can be considered dependent on the users' thermal adaptation [4], and for specific conditions, the constructive quality can increase indoor temperature without necessarily increasing the use of energy for heating purposes [49]. Rijal et al [54] performed thermal measurements and a thermal comfort survey in several dwellings, and the results showed a high level of thermal comfort mainly resulting from a successful thermal design and adaptation to indoor conditions from residents, suggesting that low energy consumption was achieved if the building behaviour provided comfortable indoor conditions over a wide range of outdoor temperatures.…”

Airtightness of Nepalese Residential Buildings

“…Lowering the air leakage from the building is crucial as it leads to higher thermal comfort (Shahi et al, 2021). In addition to improving the airtightness, the U-value of building materials and the overall heat loss rate also define indoor comfort in buildings.…”

“…In addition to improving the airtightness, the U-value of building materials and the overall heat loss rate also define indoor comfort in buildings. The studied buildings were not investigated for their U-value; however, studies (Shahi et al, 2021) conducted on similar building typologies in Nepal indicate high thermal loss from the building envelope.…”

Investigation of thermal comfort and adaptation among the residents of cold climate in the lower Himalayan region of eastern India

“…They found that the comfort temperature was highest in the sub-tropical climate of lower elevated plains, medium in the hilly region having temperate climate and lowest in the cold climate of the mountainous alpine region, respectively. More recently, Shahi et al, 38 who conducted a field study in winters in the Himalayan regions of Nepal reported a Griffiths’ comfort temperature of 17.2°C, 20.9°C and 21.7°C in the cold, temperate and sub-tropical regions, respectively. In contrast, Shrestha et al 39 reported a comfort temperature of 27.2°C among the school students (aged 12–18 years) in the temperate climate of Nepal.…”