Adaptive approaches to enhancing resilient thermal comfort in Japanese offices
Hom Bahadur Rijal, Michael Humphreys, Fergus Nicol
Abstract
The adaptive model of thermal comfort is an essential method for the design of resilient buildings because it embraces both place and season-specific temperature ranges within its comfort zones. This chapter demonstrates the importance of this fact by quantifying seasonal differences of comfort temperature in 23 offices in Japan. Monthly thermal comfort and occupant behaviour surveys were conducted, and at the same time the thermal environments were measured over a period of more than a year. 7,297 comfort votes were collected. The analysis showed that occupants were highly satisfied with the thermal environment in their offices, and had adapted well to the prevailing thermal conditions, despite the large seasonal variation in outdoor temperatures. Using the relationship between indoor and outdoor temperatures, an adaptive model for offices was developed to predict and provide guidance on setting indoor temperatures. The adaptation of the office workers was facilitated by a range of adaptive actions taken by the occupants. The acceptance of a wider range of thermal conditions indoors, enabled by controlling temperatures using the adaptive model, would contribute to large energy savings, so minimising greenhouse gas emissions and loads on the grid, while not significantly decreasing the comfort of the workers.