The role of lobbies: short-term thermal transitions

Abstract

Maintaining comfort levels while reducing energy demand in buildings in the face of climate change is a key challenge in temperate zones. Creating transitional spaces and thermal variation in buildings may offer a way forward. This paper is a study of seasonal short-term thermal transitions in the lobby areas of three higher education buildings in Sheffield, UK involving 1,749 participants, thermal comfort questionnaires and simultaneous climatic measurements. New patterns of thermal transitions were identified, which significantly modified seasonal subject’s thermal perception, and their reactions to temperature changes. Results suggest that it could be possible to positively alter people’s thermal perception in the short and long term through the judicious use of lobby spaces. This could help to reverse the negative effects of air conditioning in people’s thermal perception and aid energy saving. This work also provides a reflection on the purpose of transitional spaces in historical buildings and how the implementation of HVAC technologies has reduced the environmental diversity and the key role that transitional spaces play in providing thermal comfort in contemporary architectural design

The influence of acclimatization, age and gender-related differences on thermal perception in university buildings: Case studies in Scotland and England

“…Overall, due to the huge power consumption for space heating in the UK educational buildings [8] combined with the considerable influence of thermal comfort on students' productivity in academic environments [13,61], several studies have been conducted to evaluate the thermal environment in the UK higher educational buildings [10,[62][63][64][65][66]. However, none of these studies has taken into account the different climatic conditions over the UK.…”

Halls, lobbies, and porches: transition spaces in Victorian architecture

“…38 Research suggests that it is possible to positively alter thermal perception through the judicious use of transition spaces, reversing the negative effects of air conditioning. 39 The historic precedents explored in this paper demonstrate that environmental diversity not only offers improved opportunities for thermal comfort and adaptation compared with mechanically controlled interiors, but can also enhance our perceptions and experience of the architectural environment. Furthermore, the spatial cost of these spaces can be offset by the flexibility they offer for informal meetings, gatherings, and events, and the financial and energy savings to be made through a reduction in the scale and specification of HVAC equipment.…”

Estimation of the quality of life in housing for the elderly based on a structural equation model

“…Numerous studies have shown that IEQ is an important part of the indoor environment that has a great influence on the comfort of building occupants and enhances their QOL (Vargas & Lawrence, 2017;Altomonte & Schiavon, 2013;Garre-Olmo et al, 2012;Frontczak & Wargocki, 2011). The IEQ is related to the acoustic, lighting, and thermal environments, and the indoor air quality (Feng et al, 2018;Garre-Olmo et al, 2012;Frontczak & Wargocki, 2011).…”