Thermal comfort in different building forms and operation conditions—case study of Ningbo dental treatment rooms

Abstract

Abstract The research on indoor thermal comfort has extensively covered office, educational, and residential buildings, but healthcare facilities have been relatively overlooked. This study compared and analyzed the annual dynamic thermal comfort of six dental treatment rooms with different building forms and operation conditions through on-site surveys and EnergyPlus simulations. The results indicated that due to the significant internal heat gain of the dental equipment, treatment rooms with excellent insulation performance may paradoxically experience severe overheating issues during the cooling and free-running seasons. The findings can be used to provide empirical data to support dental treatment spaces design in Ningbo.