A field investigation of thermal comfort parameters in Green Building Index (GBI)-rated office buildings in Malaysia

Abstract

This field investigation of thermal comfort parameters in Green Building Index (GBI)-rated office buildings employing various façade-shading devices compared thermal performance in terms of four main variables: indoor air temperature, indoor relative humidity, mean radiant temperature, and indoor air velocity. Over five days of fieldwork at each building, the four variables of interest were measured, recorded, and analysed using Excel graphs. The results show that the thermal comfort performance of each building was acceptable within the parameters of the GBI Non-Residential New Construction (NRNC) Tools for Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ). In general, observed values were good for three of the four thermal parameters: indoor air temperature, indoor relative humidity and mean radiant temperature. However, indoor air velocity fell below the acceptable range as defined by the GBI NRNC Tools. One possible reason for this negative outcome is low air exchange from the air conditioning systems in the selected buildings.