SUMMER OUTDOOR THERMAL COMFORT IN MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING: Combining Microclimate Indicators with Human Thermal Sensation

Abstract

The paper examines outdoor thermal comfort in summer in the multi-family housing area Duvanište in the city of Niš, Serbia, combining objective and subjective evaluation assessments. Objective evaluation obtained field measurements of microclimatic parameters at selected sites and mean radiant temperature, predicted mean vote, and psychological equivalent temperature calculation using RayMan software. Subjective methodology assessment is performed using survey questionnaires based on thermal sensation vote and overall comfort vote. The paper aims to find the correlation between measured and calculated parameters on one side and Thermal Sensation Vote values. The results show that air temperature significantly correlates to human thermal sensation in the subject area. Obtained results also indicate high prediction accuracy of psychological equivalent temperature in the outdoor thermal comfort evaluation in summer. Finally, to feel comfortable, neither warm nor cold, in continental climate regions with hot summer conditions, the neutral psychological equivalent temperature should be between 15-24.3 °C.