Indoor Thermal Comfort from the Estimation Thermal Environment’s Physical Variables in Temperate-Dry Bioclimate

Abstract

Adverse thermal conditions alter the indoor habitability and, consequently, the occu- pants’ health, performance, mood, and comfort. Although there are local regulations that provide thermal indicators for the indoor architectural design, these are usually unrelated to the climate, type of construction project, and psychophysiological adapta- tion of people. In this way, this chapter shows the thermal comfort ranges estimated from the thermal environment’s physical variables, using the adaptive approach, for Ensenada City, Mexico (temperate-dry bioclimate). Surveys were applied to collect the subjective perception simultaneously with the measurement of black globe temperature, air temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. Study sample was made up from students of a public university whose activity level is sedentary (1.2 met) and clothing is light (0.7 clo). The survey was designed based on the ISO 10551 and ANSI/ASHRAE 55 standards, while the physical measurement instruments were selected based on ISO 7726, managing to generate a class I database. The study was correlational and statistically analyzed with 3750 surveys from the average by thermal sensation intervals method. 16 comfort ranges were quantitatively and graphically estimated from the four physical variables analyzed in each of the four representative thermal periods of the city. These indicators offer objective knowledge for proper decision-making during the archi- tectural design process and therefore for the thermal-energy efficiency of buildings.