Indoor thermal environments in apartments of Surabaya, Indonesia

Abstract

This chapter presents the results of detailed field investigations of thermal conditions and occupants' window-opening behaviour in several apartments located in the city of Surabaya, Indonesia. In the public apartments, almost all of the respondents did not use air-conditioning, and approximately 70-80% opened their windows/doors on both front and rear sides, while 20-40% of them kept the rear opening opened at night. Meanwhile, most of the respondents in the high-rise private apartments depended on air-conditioning, and about 20% of them opened the rear window only during daytime. The results of field measurement showed that under the naturally ventilated conditions, the old public apartment unit provided better thermal conditions compared to those in the other types of apartments. It was difficult to achieve the thermal comfort without relying on air-conditioning in the high-rise private apartments.