The Effect of Environmental Factors on the Thermal Comfort of Occupants in Building Interior

摘要

This study aims to analyse the effect of the thermal environment on the thermal comfort of the occupants in building interior. This study analysed the results of several questionaire surveys of thermal comfort perception and thermal environment measurements in building interior. The measurements and questionaire surveys were carried out in Laboratory of Building Science and Technology, located in Department of Architecture Building, Faculty of Engineering, Hasanuddin University at Gowa Campus. For a room with natural ventilation, four kinds of treatment of air velocity with the aid of a fan have been carried out. The four treatments of air velocity were: 1) without the aid of a fan, 2) a fan with the lowest speed, 3) a fan with medium speed, and 4) a fan with the highest velocity have been carried out. For a room with air conditioning, four treatments with different thermostat settings have been conducted. The four treatments of thermostat settings were: 1) 18oC, 2) 21oC, 3) 24oC, and 4) 27oC. A total of 150 sets of data, which involved 29 respondents, students of the Architectural Study Program have been gathered from the surveys. Before the survey was carried out, a brief explanation to the students has been conducted to ensure that the respondents understand the purpose of this study and also how to fill out the questionnaire correctly. The results showed that environmental factors, particularly the air flow speed in the room with natural ventilation have significant effect on the thermal comfort of respondents. Although the temperature reached 32oC, the existence of airflow, made 67% of respondent felt comfortable. For a room with air conditioning (AC), the study indicated a significant effect of air temperature on the thermal comfort of respondents. More than half (54%) of respondents felt cool (-2) and cold (-3) in the temperature ranges 25oC to 28oC.