Comparative analysis on indoor and outdoor thermal comfort in transitional seasons and summer based on multiple databases: Lessons learnt from the outdoors

Sijing Liu; Yongxin Xie; Yingxin Zhu; Borong Lin; Bin Cao; Nyuk Hien Wong; Jianlei Niu; Zhaosong Fang; Dayi Lai; Weiwei Liu; Jianxiu Wen; Di Mou; Hao Tang; Zhaoru Liu; Marcel Ignatius

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157694

Comparative analysis on indoor and outdoor thermal comfort in transitional seasons and summer based on multiple databases: Lessons learnt from the outdoors

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Nov 20:848:157694. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157694. Epub 2022 Jul 28.

Authors

Sijing Liu¹, Yongxin Xie², Yingxin Zhu¹, Borong Lin¹, Bin Cao¹, Nyuk Hien Wong³, Jianlei Niu⁴, Zhaosong Fang⁵, Dayi Lai⁶, Weiwei Liu⁷, Jianxiu Wen¹, Di Mou¹, Hao Tang¹, Zhaoru Liu¹, Marcel Ignatius³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
² Department of Building Science, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China. Electronic address: Yongxin.xie@connect.polyu.hk.
³ School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117566, Singapore.
⁴ Department of Building Services Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
⁵ The School of Civil Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
⁶ Department of Architecture, School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
⁷ School of Energy Science & Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410012, China.

PMID: 35907546
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157694

Abstract

In environments with similar physical parameters, thermal comfort and sensation feelings may differ indoors and outdoors. How indoor and outdoor thermal perception differ from each other remains unclear. This study compared and discussed 29,536 field survey data, including 19,191 sets of indoor data, and 10,345 sets of outdoor data, covering five Köppen climate zones during transitional seasons and summer. Indoor data points were collected from two databases: the ASHRAE Global Thermal Comfort II and the SCATs (Smart Controls and Thermal Comfort), while outdoor data points were collected from the RUROS database (Rediscovering the Urban Realm and Open Spaces) and five individual projects executed in Singapore, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Changsha, and Tianjin. The concepts of neutral rate (NR) and comfort rate (CR) were developed to help categorize "neutral" and "comfort" across different studies. The results of this study show that people are less sensitive to changes in thermal environment outdoors than indoors. Moreover, thermal comfort cannot be simply treated as thermal neutral, particularly for outdoor spaces. Compared with MM (mixed-mode) and NV (naturally ventilated) spaces, outdoor space does not have the highest NR, but its CR is much higher, with a wide range of SET* (Standard Effective Temperature) corresponding to CR over 80 %, from 15.5 °C to 23.4 °C. In the Cfa (humid subtropical) climate zone, significantly higher CR are recorded for outdoor spaces, although the NR are similar or even lower than those of indoors. Natural thermal resources in the outdoor thermal environment may hold the key to extending indoor comfort ranges.

Keywords: Indoor versus outdoor; Thermal comfort; Thermal comfort databases; Thermal neutrality.

MeSH terms

Climate*
Hong Kong
Humans
Learning
Seasons
Thermosensing*