Search results

In cities with high density, heat is often trapped between buildings which increases the frequency and intensity of heat events. Researchers have focused on developing strategies to mitigate the negative impacts of heat in cities. Adopting green infrastructure and cooling pavements are some of the many ways to promote thermal comfort against heat. The purpose of this study is to improve microclimate conditions and thermal comfort levels in high-density living conditions in Seoul, South Korea.

This study compares six design alternatives of an apartment complex with different paving and planting systems. It also examines the thermal outcome of the alternatives under normal and extreme heat conditions to suggest strategies to secure acceptable thermal comfort levels for the inhabitants. Each alternative is analyzed using ENVI-met, a software program that simulates microclimate conditions and thermal comfort features based on relationships among buildings, vegetation and pavements.

The results indicate that grass paving was more effective than stone paving in lowering air temperature and improving thermal comfort at the near-surface level. Coniferous trees were found to be more effective than broadleaf trees in reducing temperature. Thermal comfort levels were most improved when coniferous trees were planted in paired settings.

Landscape elements show promise for the improvement of thermal conditions because it is much easier to redesign landscape elements, such as paving or planting, than to change fixed urban elements like buildings and roads. The results identified the potential of landscape design for improving microclimate and thermal comfort in urban residential complexes.

The results contribute to the literature by examining the effect of tree species and layout on thermal comfort levels, which has been rarely investigated in previous studies.

The present shift and change in the human lifestyle across the world are undeniable. Currently, individuals spend a substantial amount of time indoors due to the global COVID-19 pandemic that strikes the entire world. This change in human lifestyle has devastating effects on human health and productivity. As a result, the influence of indoor environmental quality (IEQ) on the health and productivity of building users becomes a critical field of research that requires immediate attention. As a result, the purpose of this study is to review the state-of-the-art literature by establishing a connection between the factors that influence health and productivity in any given indoor environment.

The methodology involves a thorough review of selected published journals from 1983 to 2021, and the result was analysed through content analysis. The search included journal articles, books and conference proceedings on the critical factors influencing IEQ and their impact on building occupants, which was sourced from different databases such as ScienceDirect, Taylor, GoogleScholar and Web of Science.

The findings from the 90 selected articles revealed four critical factors influencing the quality of the indoor environment and are categorised into; indoor air quality, indoor thermal comfort, visual comfort and acoustic comfort. The findings suggested that when developing a system for controlling the quality of the indoor environment, the indoor air quality, indoor thermal comfort, visual comfort and acoustic comfort should be taken into account.

The indoor environment deeply impacts the health of individuals in their living and work environments. Industry must have a moral responsibility to provide health facilities in which people and workers feel satisfies and give conditions for prosperity. Addressing these essential aspects will not only help the decision-making process of construction professionals but also encourages innovative construction techniques that will enhance the satisfaction, wellness and performance of building occupants.

Achieving an appropriate indoor environment quality (IEQ) is crucial to a green office environment. Whilst much research has been carried out across the globe on the ideal IEQ for green offices, little is known about which indoor environment New Zealand office workers prefer and regard as most appropriate. This study investigated New Zealand office workers' preference for a green environment.

Workers were conveniently selected for a questionnaire survey study from two major cities in the country – Wellington and Auckland. The perception of 149 workers was analysed and discussed based on the workers' demographics. The responses to each question were analysed based on the mean, standard deviation, frequency of responses and difference in opinion.

The results showed that workers' preferences for an ideal IEQ in green work environments depend largely on demographics. New Zealand office workers prefer work environments to have more fresh air and rely on mixed-mode ventilation and lighting systems. Also New Zealand office workers like to have better acoustic quality with less distraction and background noise. Regarding temperature, workers prefer workspaces to be neither cooler nor warmer. Unique to New Zealand workers, the workers prefer to have some (not complete) individual control over the IEQ in offices.

This study was conducted in the summer season, which could have impacted the responses received. Also the sample size was limited to two major cities in the country. Further studies should be conducted in other regions and during different seasons.

This study provides the opportunity for more studies in this area of research and highlights significant findings worthy of critical investigations. The results of this study benefit various stakeholders, such as facilities managers and workplace designers, and support proactive response approaches to achieving building occupants' preferences for an ideal work environment.

This study is the first research in New Zealand to explore worker preferences of IEQ that is not limited to a particular building, expanding the body of knowledge on workers' perception of the ideal work environment in the country.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the question “In what order of magnitude does the comfort and performance improvement lie with the use of a cooling vest for construction workers?”.

The use of personal cooling systems, in the form of cooling vests, is not only intended to reduce the heat load, in order to prevent disruption of the thermoregulation system of the body, but also to improve work performance. A calculation study was carried out on the basis of four validated mathematical models, namely a cooling vest model, a thermophysiological human model, a dynamic thermal sensation model and a performance loss model for construction workers.

The use of a cooling vest has a significant beneficial effect on the thermal sensation and the loss of performance, depending on the thermal load on the body.

Each cooling vest can be characterized on the basis of the maximum cooling power (Pmax; in W/m²), the cooling capacity (Auc; in Wh/m2) and the time (tc; in minutes) after which the cooling power is negligible. In order to objectively compare cooling vests, a (preferably International and/or European) standard/guideline must be compiled to determine the cooling power and the cooling capacity of cooling vests.

It is recommended to implement the use of cooling vests in the construction process so that employees can use them if necessary or desired.

Climate change, resulting in global warming, is one of the biggest problems of present times. Rising outdoor temperatures will continue in the 21st century, with a greater frequency and duration of heat waves. Some regions of the world are more affected than others. Europe is one of the regions of the world where rising global temperatures will adversely affect public health, especially that of the labor force, resulting in a decline in labor productivity. It will be clear that in many situations air conditioning is not an option because it does not provide sufficient cooling or it is a very expensive investment; for example, in the situation of construction work. In such a situation, personal cooling systems, such as cooling vests, can be an efficient and financially attractive solution to the problem of discomfort and heat stress.

The value of the study lies in the link between four validated mathematical models, namely a cooling vest model, a thermophysiological human model, a dynamic thermal sensation model and a performance loss model for construction workers.

The purpose of this paper was to investigate whether small holes in an impermeable patch at the wrist improve perceived comfort during exercise.

Nine male participants participated in this study. During the experiment, participants cycled 60 W in a hot room (35°C, 30 percent relative humidity) while an impermeable 20 cm² patch was located on the ventral side of one wrist and at the same time a patch of identical shape with 5 mm diameter holes (17.7 percent uncovered) on the other wrist. The participants could not see the patches. Participants were forced to choose which patch they perceived as more comfortable. Chest and arm skin temperature, thermal comfort, thermal sensation and wetness perception were assessed.

Participants preferred 5 mm holes over no holes (p=0.017). Chest skin temperature (p=0.018) but not arm skin temperature correlates with this preference. Thermal comfort, thermal sensation and wetness perception did not differ significantly between patches. It is concluded that patches with 5 mm holes are preferred over impermeable patches during work in the heat in particular when the torso skin is warm.

The wrist is a preferred location for smart wearables. Generally, wrist bands are made of air-impermeable materials leading to sensation of wetness and discomfort. This study has shown that manufacturers should consider to make small holes in their wrist bands to optimize wearing comfort.

This paper highlights the importance of user satisfaction in office renovation. A user-focussed renovation approach can enhance user satisfaction in offices and their functional quality while meeting energy performance goals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate users’ needs and the physical and psychological factors affecting user satisfaction, as input to office renovation projects.

The selected articles are collected from Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar. Searching was limited to the main key terms of office, work environment, and user satisfaction and comfort. The important factors were searched through empirical-based international literature mainly. Based hereupon, a guide will be developed for the analysis and evaluation of user satisfaction in office renovations.

From a comprehensive overview, the findings present ten main factors to increase user satisfaction in office renovation. These are associated with physical and psychological satisfaction and comfort. In addition, the influential factors were categorised into three levels based on needs theories to organise the hierarchy of priorities.

This research adds to the body of knowledge about which factors are important for user satisfaction, based on what previous research has found in that field. This is important to improve the sustainability in use.

User satisfaction is often studied through separate aspects: health and indoor climate vs functionality and productivity. This paper examines overall user satisfaction of workplaces by integrating the perspectives of physical and psychological conditions, and by providing insight into the priority of satisfaction factors.

Refurbishing houses is considered a key measure to improve the energy efficiency of the built environment. However, little is known about the implementation and outcome of housing renovation for energy upgrades in the Vietnamese practice. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the energy performance of the current housing stock in Vietnam and the potential to reduce energy use in households.

The paper is based on a survey with 153 respondents in three major climatic regions of Vietnam. The survey focusses on building characteristics, environmental performance, energy performance and refurbishment activities. Data collected from the survey were statistically analysed to give insight into the current performance of the housing stock and its energy saving potential.

This paper concludes that building design and construction, particularly the building envelope, have a significant influence on the occupants’ comfort. However, the energy consumption in houses is not statistically associated with building design and indoor environment. It is suggested that financial status and occupants’ behaviour currently have a strong influence on the household energy use. The survey also showed that refurbishment improves the housing performance, especially if improving the indoor environment was one of the drivers.

There are very few studies on energy use in households in Vietnam, especially with regards to actual energy consumption. This paper brings insights into the actual energy consumption and reveals the “performance gap” in Vietnamese housing stock.

Most support surfaces in comfort applications and sporting equipment are made from pressure-relieving foam such as viscoelastic polyurethane. However, for some users, foam is not the best material as it acts as a thermal insulator and it may not offer adequate postural support. The additive manufacturing of such surfaces and equipment may alleviate these issues, but material and design investigation is needed to optimize the printing parameters for use in pressure relief applications. This study aims to assess the ability of an additive manufactured flexible polymer to perform similarly to a viscoelastic foam for use in comfort applications.

Three-dimensional (3D) printed samples of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) are tested in uniaxial compression with four different infill patterns and varying infill percentage. The behaviours of the samples are compared to a viscoelastic polyurethane foam used in various comfort applications.

Results indicate that TPU experiences an increase in strength with an increasing infill percentage. Findings from the study suggest that infill pattern impacts the compressive response of 3D printed material, with two-dimensional patterns inducing an elasto-plastic buckling of the cell walls in TPU depending on infill percentage. Such buckling may not be a beneficial property for comfort applications. Based on the results, the authors suggest printing from TPU with a low-density 3D infill, such as 5% gyroid.

Several common infill patterns are characterised in compression in this work, suggesting the importance of infill choices when 3D printing end-use products and design for manufacturing.

Optimisation of daylight admission through window is crucial for alleviating glare while maintaining useful daylight levels in order to enhance occupants' health, visual comfort and moderating lighting energy consumption. Amongst various solutions, fixed external shade is an affordable solution for housing spaces that need to be sophisticatedly designed, especially during the period of increasing home spaces as working environments. In the humid subtropical region, daylight control plays an important role in indoor comfort, particularly with areas with a high window to wall ratio (WWR). Due to the insufficient amount of such study on non-office spaces in Australia, shading-related standards are not addressed in Australian building codes.

The chosen methodology for the research is a quantitative data collection and analysis through field measurement and simulation simultaneously. The first step is a multi-objective optimisation of shading elements through a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) on parametric modelling via Rhino3D CAD and simulation engines (DIVA and ClimateStudio). In the second phase, the Pareto front solutions are validated by experimental measurements within a room with a single north-facing window (the most probable for the daytime glare in Sydney) for the seven most common local window configurations.

Through the simulation of ten genes, 1,560 values and 2.4 × 1,019 of search space, this study found an optimum shade for each local common window layout, resulted in +22% in (UDI) and −16% in views with discomfort glare on average. Moreover, an all-purpose polygonal shade showed an average of 4.6% increase in UDI and a 5.83% decrease in the percentage of views with discomfort glare.

The findings are subject to the room dimensions, window dimensions and layouts, and orientation of windows for selected residential buildings in Sydney.

The study contributes to the development of highly accurate fixed external shading systems with rectangular and tapered-form external shapes. A real-time measurement by luminance-metre sensors and HQ cameras located at six eye levels is conducted to corroborate simulation results of the visual comfort.

Buildings and their use is a complex process from design to occupation. Buildings produce huge volumes of data such as building information modelling (BIM), sensor (e.g. from building management systems), occupant and building maintenance data. These data can be spread across multiple disconnected systems in numerous formats, making their combined analysis difficult. The purpose of this paper is to bring these sources of data together, to provide a more complete account of a building and, consequently, a more comprehensive basis for understanding and managing its performance.

Building data from a sample of newly constructed housing units were analysed, several properties were identified for the study and sensors deployed. A sensor agnostic platform for visualising real-time building performance data was developed.

Data sources from both sensor data and qualitative questionnaire were analysed and a matrix of elements affecting building performance in areas such as energy use, comfort use, integration with technology was presented. In addition, a prototype sensor visualisation platform was designed to connect in-use performance data to BIM.

This work presents initial findings from a post occupancy evaluation utilising sensor data. The work attempts to address the issues of BIM in-use scenarios for housing sector. A prototype was developed which can be fully developed and replicated to wider housing projects. The findings can better address how indoor thermal comfort parameters can be used to improve housing stock and even address elements such as machine learning for better buildings.