Thermal and Air Quality Environment in Elementary School Classrooms Equipped with Air-Conditioning System for Cooling

摘要

An investigation was performed in a middle-corridor-type elementary school in Tokyo, Japan, equipped with an air-conditioning system for cooling. Temperatures and CO_2 concentrations were measured in classrooms, corridors and outdoors. Visual inspections were made on opened and closed conditions of windows, doors and curtains, and pupil numbers in classrooms during each lesson hour. Pupils' and teachers' thermal environment evaluations and environmental control behaviors were obtained from questionnaires. As a result, environmental control behaviors such as operation of cooling systems and opened/closed conditions of windows and doors varied greatly depending on the class. When cooling systems were operating, outside windows tended to be closed, while corridor-side openings were frequently left open. For this reason, CO_2 concentrations were kept lower than guideline values for school classrooms. Acclimatization to heat was identified from changes in thermal sensations during summer. Furthermore, pupils who maintained high metabolic rates felt comparatively warm, even when the outdoor temperature was low in early winter. Compared with the adaptive model's neutral temperatures, neutral temperatures based on thermal sensation were in agreement when outdoor temperatures were 20°C and above, and lower, approaching outdoor temperatures, when outdoor temperatures were below 20°C. Neutraltemperatures based on suitable temperature evaluations were 1°C lower than the adaptive model's neutral temperatures.