TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermal perception, adaptation and attendance in a public square in hot and humid regions
AU - Lin, Tzu Ping
N1 - Funding Information:
The author would like to thank the National Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan, for financially supporting this research under Contract No. NSC 96-2415-H-150-004-MY2. Kuan-Wen Lin and Yen-Ting Lin are highly commended for their data collection and preliminary analysis in their Project Practice for the bachelor degree at the National Formosa University (NFU), Taiwan. Ted Knoy is appreciated for his editorial assistance.
PY - 2009/10
Y1 - 2009/10
N2 - Highly relevant to an individual's thermal perception, the thermal environment in outdoor public spaces impacts the use of such spaces. Thermal adaptation, which involves physiological, psychological and behavioral factors, also plays an important role in assessment of thermal environments by users. Given that these issues have rarely been addressed for outdoor environments in hot and humid regions, this study examines user thermal comfort in a public square in Taiwan. Physical measurements were taken and a questionnaire survey was used to assess the thermal comfort of subjects. The number of people visiting the square was also counted. Analytical results indicate that the thermal comfort range and neutral temperature of subjects was higher than those of people in a temperate region. Additionally, local subjects preferred a cool temperature and weak sunlight, and adapted to thermal environments by seeking shelter outdoors. Analytical results confirm the existence of thermal adaptation and illustrate the characteristics of, and variances in, thermal adaptation. During the cool season, the number of people visiting the square increased as the thermal index value increased. However, the number of people frequenting the square decreased as the thermal index increased during the hot season. These experimental results were compared with those for temperate regions, indicating that the human energy balance model cannot fully explain the influence of climate on use of public spaces; that is, psychological and behavioral factors also play important roles in outdoor thermal comfort. Study findings also elucidate design of outdoor public spaces in hot and humid regions.
AB - Highly relevant to an individual's thermal perception, the thermal environment in outdoor public spaces impacts the use of such spaces. Thermal adaptation, which involves physiological, psychological and behavioral factors, also plays an important role in assessment of thermal environments by users. Given that these issues have rarely been addressed for outdoor environments in hot and humid regions, this study examines user thermal comfort in a public square in Taiwan. Physical measurements were taken and a questionnaire survey was used to assess the thermal comfort of subjects. The number of people visiting the square was also counted. Analytical results indicate that the thermal comfort range and neutral temperature of subjects was higher than those of people in a temperate region. Additionally, local subjects preferred a cool temperature and weak sunlight, and adapted to thermal environments by seeking shelter outdoors. Analytical results confirm the existence of thermal adaptation and illustrate the characteristics of, and variances in, thermal adaptation. During the cool season, the number of people visiting the square increased as the thermal index value increased. However, the number of people frequenting the square decreased as the thermal index increased during the hot season. These experimental results were compared with those for temperate regions, indicating that the human energy balance model cannot fully explain the influence of climate on use of public spaces; that is, psychological and behavioral factors also play important roles in outdoor thermal comfort. Study findings also elucidate design of outdoor public spaces in hot and humid regions.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2009.02.004
DO - 10.1016/j.buildenv.2009.02.004
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:67349130799
VL - 44
SP - 2017
EP - 2026
JO - Building and Environment
JF - Building and Environment
SN - 0360-1323
IS - 10
ER -