Study on the comfort temperature and thermal adaptation in living rooms in summer

Abstract

This paper describes the results of a field survey performed on the thermal environment and thermal comfort in living rooms of Japanese houses during a summer period. The major findings are as follows: 1) Mean comfort temperature calculated by Griffiths method was 27.5°C under both conditions of Free Running Mode (FR) and mechanical Cooling Mode (CL). 2) We compared the comfort temperature obtained with acceptable temperature zone of the adaptive model and found that the comfort temperature under the FR mode lies within the temperature zone given by the CEN (Comité Européen de Normalisation) standard and that under the CL mode exceeds a little the upper edge of the comfort zone given by the CIBSE (Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers) guide. 3) We compared the comfort temperature for those who like air conditioning and those dislike. The differences in comfort temperature between the like and dislike was 1 °C in both FR and in CL modes. 4) We also investigated behavioral adaptation performed by the residents and confirmed that the residents adapt to the hot environments by means of window opening fan use and clothing adjustment.