RP-921 -- Field Study Of Occupant Comfort And Office Thermal Environments In A Hot Arid Climate

This project is an extension of similar projects (ASHRAE 462-RP, 702-RP, and 821-RP) carried out in 1986-95 under the supervision of TC 2.1. All three projects measured the indoor thermal environments and occupant responses to those environments in office buildings in moderate, hot-humid and cold climate regions respectively. The measurements were repeated in summer and winter, resulting in several types of information. These were: typical conditions in modern offices, the match of the ASHRAE Std 55-81 comfort zone and of various comfort indices to occupant comfort perceptions, the effect of season change on comfort requirements, and a range of other physical and psychological attributes affecting the occupants acceptance of the work environment. To accomplish this, the projects, developed protocols for measuring the detailed physical environment of the occupants workstations, and for surveying the occupants for their opinions and relevant personal data.

The objective of this research is to provide information on office thermal environments and occupant response in a climate with a hot dry summer, with four or more months having normal (average) daily maximum temperatures at or above 25.5C (78F) and morning relative humidities below 40 per cent. The winter conditions could be hot, temperate, or cold, depending on the region. To allow intercomparison with studies in other climate regions, the study should at a minimum follow the methods used for measurement and analysis in the earlier studies.

PRINCAL INVESTIGATOR: Kris Cena, Murdoch University
CONDUCTED: January 1997 - October 1998
SPONSORED BY: TC 2.1, Physiology and Human Environment



Product Code(s): D-8201