Work

Experimental and modeling approach for estimating the psychological adaptation and perceived thermal comfort of occupants in indoor spaces

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The aim of this research is to propose a methodology that addresses the relationship between the environmental thermal conditions and the perceived thermal comfort evaluation of occupants. It examined the psychological adaptation of the occupants so as to quantify it, and further adapt it into thermal comfort evaluations. Therefore, a model is proposed which distinctly evaluates the physiological and psychological components of perceived comfort, and then integrates these components into a thermal comfort evaluation. Hence to achieve the closure in the model equations, some experiments were undertaken where the subjects were exposed to various thermal conditions in an enclosed space that imitates an office indoor environment; thermal measurements were taken and perceived data were collected. Thus, the study aims to evaluate the adaptive factor that creates the deviation between the physiological evaluation and the actual thermal perception of the subjects; this adaptive factor is linked to the physical stimuli experienced due to the thermal environment and the cognitive information within the occupant’s memory systems; hence, it is further related to the outdoor air temperature and indoor operative temperature.

Source: Building and Environment

DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2024.112479

Authors: Tosin Omoya, Denis Bruneau, Thomas Recht, Aline Barlet