Climatology of the human thermal comfort on SÃo Paulo metropolitan area, Brazil: Indoors and outdoors

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to carry out a climatological analysis of human thermal comfort in the São Paulo city, Brazil, for outdoor and indoor environments, applying different indexes of thermal comfort in order to assess which of them represent best the weather characteristics of the São Paulo city. The relationship between these indexes and the seasons (fall, winter, spring, summer) was investigated in the period from 1980 to 2005, for outdoor environments, and during 2005, for the indoor environments. The results showed that the most appropriate index for São Paulo, both for internal and external conditions was the Effective Temperature Index (ET) as it has a broad classification and can provide appropriate representations of the region’s comfort. According to this index, the mornings during summer in the outdoor environments showed mild discomfort by cold, and the afternoons were comfortable. In winter, there was thermal stress by cold during the mornings and a slight discomfort by cold during the afternoons. For indoor environments in the summer, most of the houses presented comfortable mornings, and afternoons with discomfort in relation to the heat, while in the winter, period proved to be uncomfortable and stressful due to cold and the afternoons characterized themselves as comfortable.