Physiological equivalent temperature-based and universal thermal climate index-based adaptive-rational outdoor thermal comfort models. (15th January 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Sheng; Zhang, Xia; Niu, Dun; Fang, Zhaosong; Chang, Han; Lin, Zhang
• Is Part Of: Building and environment. Volume 228(2023)
• Publication Date: 2023-01-15
• Subjects: Heat balance -- Thermal adaptations -- Adaptive-rational model -- Physiological equivalent temperature -- Universal thermal climate index; arPTS Adaptive-rational predicted thermal sensation -- PET Physiological Equivalent Temperature -- PTS Predicted thermal sensation -- RMSE Root mean square error -- SDAE Standard deviation of absolute errors -- TSV Thermal sensation vote -- UTCI Universal Thermal Climate Index; Buildings -- Environmental engineering -- Periodicals; Building -- Research -- Periodicals; Constructions -- Technique de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 696
• DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2022.109900
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0360-1323

Abstract

Abstract: Outdoor thermal comfort models are predominant in guiding urban design and outdoor space usage. Both the heat balance of the human body and thermal adaptations significantly affect outdoor thermal comfort. This study proposes adaptive-rational outdoor thermal comfort models to account for the heat balance and thermal adaptations simultaneously. Two widely used rational thermal indices of outdoor thermal comfort, i.e., Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) and Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), are implemented to account for the heat balance. The adaptive and extension methods are implemented based on the rational thermal indices to develop the adaptive-rational outdoor thermal comfort models. The validation results show that compared with the PET-based rational model, the PET-based adaptive-rational models with adaptive and extension methods improve the accuracy and robustness by up to 83% and 86% respectively. Compared with the UTCI-based rational model, the UTCI-based adaptive-rational models with adaptive and extension methods improve the accuracy and robustness by up to 87% and 87% respectively. The proposed adaptive-rational outdoor thermal comfort models contribute to developing livable urban environments. Highlights: PET-based and UTCI-based adaptive-rational outdoor thermal comfort models are developed. Adaptive and extension methods are employed to develop adaptive-rational outdoor thermal comfort models. Proposed models are validated by field data of different climate types, thermal sensation scales, and metabolic rates. Proposed models improve accuracy and robustness by up to 87%.