Indoor Thermal Comfort Research

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Biometeorology and Bioclimatology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 March 2025 | Viewed by 2853

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Guest Editor
Department of Building Physics and Renewable Energy, Kielce University of Technology, 25-314 Kielce, Poland
Interests: indoor air quality; thermal comfort; CFD; heat recovery; air exchange
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Guest Editor
Department of Heating, Ventilation and Dust Removal Technology, Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, Silesian University of technology, Gliwice 44-100, Poland
Interests: fire safety; fire ventilation; safety management; road tunnel safety
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today we spend most of our time indoors. Therefore, it is extremely important to maintain air parameters that allow you to feel thermal comfort. Thermal comfort affects human wellbeing, but also affects work efficiency or learning effectiveness. Being in rooms where comfort is not maintained reduces the efficiency of work and learning, resulting in increases in the absenteeism of employees and students. In addition, the modern drive for energy efficiency reduces air exchange. Insufficient air exchange can cause thermal discomfort and symptoms of sick building syndrome. This, in turn, can cause irreversible health effects.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to evaluate indoor thermal comfort and to develop good practises in building use. Original results of field and controlled research and subjective surveys, models, and review articles on thermal comfort and the proper functioning of buildings are welcome. We encourage authors to identify the directions of the development of HVAC systems in buildings and the development of building construction to improve the conditions of thermal comfort.

Dr. Ewa Zender-Świercz
Dr. Małgorzata Król
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • thermal comfort
  • indoor air
  • indoor parameters
  • HVAC
  • architecture

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 6823 KiB  
Article
Application of Statistical Learning Algorithms in Thermal Stress Assessment in Comparison with the Expert Judgment Inherent to the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI)
by Peter Bröde, Dusan Fiala and Bernhard Kampmann
Atmosphere 2024, 15(6), 703; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15060703 - 12 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 811
Abstract
This study concerns the application of statistical learning (SL) in thermal stress assessment compared to the results accomplished by an international expert group when developing the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). The performance of diverse SL algorithms in predicting UTCI equivalent temperatures and [...] Read more.
This study concerns the application of statistical learning (SL) in thermal stress assessment compared to the results accomplished by an international expert group when developing the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). The performance of diverse SL algorithms in predicting UTCI equivalent temperatures and in thermal stress assessment was assessed by root mean squared errors (RMSE) and Cohen’s kappa. A total of 48 predictors formed by 12 variables at four consecutive 30 min intervals were obtained as the output of an advanced human thermoregulation model, calculated for 105,642 conditions from extreme cold to extreme heat. Random forests and k-nearest neighbors closely predicted UTCI equivalent temperatures with an RMSE about 3 °C. However, clustering applied after dimension reduction (principal component analysis and t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding) was inadequate for thermal stress assessment, showing low to fair agreement with the UTCI stress categories (Cohen’s kappa < 0.4). The findings of this study will inform the purposeful application of SL in thermal stress assessment, where they will support the biometeorological expert. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Thermal Comfort Research)
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20 pages, 8683 KiB  
Case Report
Indoor Thermal Environment Evaluation for Emergency Medical Tents in Heating Season: Onsite Testing and Case Study in China
by Meng Han, Zhineng Jin, Ying Zhao, Yin Zhang, Wenyang Han and Menglong Zhang
Atmosphere 2024, 15(3), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15030388 - 21 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1311
Abstract
In this study, the standard tent used by the China International Medical Team (Sichuan) was used as the research object to study the internal temperature change in medical tents in a low-temperature environment relying on heating equipment. Method: Four temperature sensors were arranged [...] Read more.
In this study, the standard tent used by the China International Medical Team (Sichuan) was used as the research object to study the internal temperature change in medical tents in a low-temperature environment relying on heating equipment. Method: Four temperature sensors were arranged along the horizontal direction at a 1.2 m height in the medical tent, and more sensors were installed at heights of 0.1, 0.2, 0.6, 1.2, 1.8, 2.4, and 2.5 m. A total of 11 temperature sensors were set. Temperature tests were conducted in January and February 2021 in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. During the test, the running time of the heating equipment was controlled in real time according to the temperature change trend. A Kolmogorov–Smirnov(K-S) test was used to verify the reliability of the experimental data. The temperature change trend was used to characterize the influence of the heating and cooling equipment on the temperature change inside the tent. Results: Due to the position angle of the heating equipment and the influence of the external environment, the spatial distribution of the ambient temperature inside the medical tent was obviously uneven. In winter, an electric heater with a heating power of about 2500 W can increase the internal temperature of the tent to 16.7 °C, significantly improving the internal thermal environment of the medical tent. The ambient temperature in the medical tent is positively correlated with the height and the installation position of the heating equipment. Conclusion: Medical tents can maintain the ambient temperature well to meet medical needs with the support of heating equipment with sufficient power. The temperature distribution law of medical tents in this experiment has good guiding significance for the placement angle of heating equipment and the configuration position of medical equipment and provides a reference for the development of thermal insulation materials for medical tents. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Indoor Thermal Comfort Research)
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