Can thermal perception in a building be predicted by the perceived spatial openness of a building in a hot and humid climate?

Can thermal perception in a building be predicted by the perceived spatial openness of a building in a hot and humid climate?

Du, X. (TU Delft Building Physics)
Bokel, R.M.J. (TU Delft Building Physics)
van den Dobbelsteen, A.A.J.F. (TU Delft Architectural Engineering +Technology)

Brotas, Luisa (editor)
Roaf, Susan (editor)
Nicol, Fergus (editor)

Architectural Engineering +Technology

2017

The authors wanted to prove that there is a large correlation between the concepts spatial openness and comfort (visual, wind speed and thermal) perception in people’s minds in a hot and humid climate in summer in order to be able to use spatial configuration parameters such as openness, connectivity and depth as a design tool for a comfortable an energy efficient building in the early design stages. 513 local Chinese college architecture students in 2015 were questioned about the relationship between spatial openness and comfort perception. The main findings for a hot and humid climate are: a. spatial openness of a particular space significantly effects occupants’ visual perception, wind speed perception and thermal perception in a particular space (p < .05). b. There is a strong effect size between spatial openness and visual and wind perception (w = .50 and .54); the effect size of the thermal perception is weaker (w = .14). c. The comfort perception is strongly influenced by the time of day, therefore visual perception, wind perception and thermal perception can influence occupant movement between different spaces as is the advice of the adaptive thermal comfort.

Spatial openness
Thermal environment
Perception
Adaptive thermal comfort

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:04184b05-d669-4549-aad3-1ee65dd1c0c2

Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings (NCEUB), Edinburgh

978-0-9928957-5-4

Proceedings of the 33rd PLEA International Conference: Design to Thrive, I

PLEA 2017: 33rd International Conference "Design to Thrive", 2017-07-03 → 2017-07-05, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Institutional Repository

conference paper

© 2017 X. Du, R.M.J. Bokel, A.A.J.F. van den Dobbelsteen