Investigation of Thermal Comfort in Transitional Spaces of an Institutional Building of Jaipur through Computer Simulation

Sumbul Afreen, Sankha Subhra Nath

Abstract: The study of thermal comfort in transitional spaces has become important for the last 10 years. The current comfort standards like ASHRAE 55 do not reflect the climatic diversity of India. In this regard, an attempt has been made in this paper to investigate thermal comfort in transitional spaces of an institutional building in the hot and dry climate of the Indian subcontinent. Both computer simulation and empirical methods are used to derive the comfort temperature for selected transitional areas of the building block. Thermal Comfort factors are analyzed through regression analysis for the study area. It is observed that the comfort temperature derived from the simulation and empirical method is very similar and close to each other. A thermally acceptable comfort range of 30.06-30.39C is established from the result. Results from this study show that people are comfortable at a higher range of temperatures than those suggested by ASHRAE 55. An extended comfort range has been suggested for naturally ventilated buildings in the hot and dry climate of India.

Keywords: thermal comforttransitional spaces, simulation method, empirical method