"Thermal Comfort"?!

Did you know that we spend 80—90% of our time inside buildings (home, work, university, etc.)? In a previous article we learned that the environmental aspects of architectural design are a need, not a luxury. Thermal Comfort is defined by ASHRAE 55 as a "condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment."

Image source and credit © Ahmed Abouaiana, based on AI (https://gencraft.com/)

Several aspects determine the human comfort inside the building: Climatic conditions: Air Speed, Air Temperature, Relative Humidity, Mean Radiant Temperature Personal aspects: Clothing Insulation and Metabolic Rate.

What do you think about designing a kindergarten (for kids) as you design a sports hall (Gym)? consider the target users, male/female, so the activities affect sensation to the thermal comfort in terms of psychological state and metabolic rate (the unit is MET); for example, the metabolic rate in office space is 1.1 MET, cleaning 3 MET, and Running 8 MET. Here is a good estimator for metabolic rate https://www.garnethealth.org/news/basal-metabolic-rate-calculator (accessed November 2024)

Understanding body surface temperature helps us design within the limits of thermal comfort.

Imaginative thermal picture of a human body and indoor space.

Image source and credit: Ahmed Abouaiana, by AI (https://www.canva.com/)

Also, understanding the indoor climate for human health and well-being helps you to fit your design to meet human needs. For example, to improve the thermal environment Generally speaking, the range of thermal comfort is Air Temperature (20°C - 27.75°C), and Relative humidity is between (20% and 50%), but again, please remember that there are other factors. Maybe you can increase the window area to warm the room in a cold climate while improving the Actinic Environment daylighting level. You may also use green walls to improve the atmospheric environment (reduce pollution) and enhance the acoustic environment (noise reduction). You may need a humid temperature with a green area or water feature.

It could be positioning the windows to enable natural ventilation, applying air catchers, or inner courtyards.

I advise you to search via the Internet, for example "How can architectural design reduce noise " or "Building design to reduce pollution?" Please try each item below.

Congratulations, you are expanding your knowledge.

Important remark: I will set you a rule: don't feel it is difficult. You are an architect, so your crucial feature is mindset. In this stage of your life, you should not be fully aware of these considerations and calculations unless you are well-specialized in environmental design. I emphasize that many graduate architects are unaware of what thermal comfort is.

Please answer the following question: Can the architect make the building's users happy with "Thermal Comfort"? Keep waiting for an article presenting piece-of-cake tools and techniques to address thermal comfort. Dr.Arch. Ahmed Abouaiana, November 2024

Useful References (please do your home work and search yourself): 1. T E R I. 2021Thermal comfort prescription for cooling dominated Indian residential buildingsNew Delhi: The Energy and Resources Institute. https://www.teriin.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Thermal-Comfort-Prescription.pdf (Accessed October 2024) 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTdiimklSqo&t=174sDr.