Indoor Thermal Comfort from the Estimation Thermal Environment’s Physical Variables in Temperate-Dry Bioclimate

Abstract

Adverse thermal conditions alter the indoor habitability and consequently, the occupants' health, performance, mood and comfort. Although there are local regulations that provide thermal indicators for the indoor architectural design, this are usually unrelated to the climate, type of construction project and psychophysiological adaptation of people. In this way, this chapter shows the thermal comfort ranges estimated from the thermal environment’s physical variables, using the adaptive approach, for Ensenada City, Mexico (dry-temperate bioclimate). Surveys were applied to collect the subjective perception simultaneously of the measurement of black globe temperature, air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. Study sample was made up from students of a public university whose activity level is sedentary (1.2 met) and clothing is light (0.7 clo). The survey was designed based on the ISO 10551 and ANSI/ASHRAE 55 standards, while the physical measurement instruments were selected based on ISO 7726, managing to generate a class I database. The study was correlational and statistically analyzed with 3,750 surveys from Average by Thermal Sensation Intervals method. 16 comfort ranges were quantitatively and graphically estimated from the four physical variables analyzed in each of the four representative thermal periods of the city. These indicators offer objective knowledge for proper decision-making during the architectural design process and, therefore, for the thermal-energy efficiency of buildings.