Study On Thermal Comfort And Occupants’ Adaptive Behaviors In Tianjin Residential Buildings

Study on the adaptive comfort model is very important for the establishment of indoor thermal environment standards.Currently China indoor thermal environment standards are derived from traditional static thermal comfort models.These standards are well applicable in static air-conditioned environment like offices but not suitable for residential buildings.There have been no such studies focusing on indoor thermal environment and occupants’ thermal sensation in Tianjin residential buildings.Based on adaptive comfort theory,this study was conducted in 43 Tianjin homes.The main work and conclusions are as follows:First,field measurements with online subjective questionnaires were conducted in 43 Tianjin homes for about 6 months.Environmental parameters including indoor air temperature and relative humidity were recorded.Online questionnaires surveyed thermal sensation and behavior of occupants in homes.Indoor neutral temperature and acceptable temperature were calculated.Adaptive comfort model for Tianjin residential buildings was established.Second,occupants’ adaptive behaviors including changing clothing and turning on air-conditioner were analyzed.Occupants’ clothing changing behaviors under different indoor air temperatures and different seasons were compared.Air-conditioning usage behavior from May to November were analyzed using temperature data recorded in the devices placed at the supply vent of every air-conditioner.The cooling and heating trigger and stop temperatures were summarized.Meanwhile,adaptive comfort model was validated by analyzing air-conditioning trigger and stop temperature with regard to outdoor air temperature.At last,occupants’ cooling adjusting behaviors(e.g.opening windows or doors,turning on fans,turning on air-conditioner)with regard to outdoor air temperatures were analyzed using logistic regression analysis and nonlinear regression method.Occupants’ adjusting behavior model was established.This study revealed that opening windows or doors was the most popular way that householders adopted to get thermal comfort.An outdoor air temperature of 25.2℃ was associated with maximum use of windows/doors for comfort ventilation and minimum use of air conditioning.When the percentage of respondents turning on AC is 50%,the outdoor air temperature is 32.5℃.More people turn on fans or air-conditioners in night time than in day time.