Thermal comfort, perceived air quality, and cognitive performance when personally controlled air movement is used by tropically acclimatized persons
- PMID: 27754563
- DOI: 10.1111/ina.12352
Abstract
In a warm and humid climate, increasing the temperature set point offers considerable energy benefits with low first costs. Elevated air movement generated by a personally controlled fan can compensate for the negative effects caused by an increased temperature set point. Fifty-six tropically acclimatized persons in common Singaporean office attire (0.7 clo) were exposed for 90 minutes to each of five conditions: 23, 26, and 29°C and in the latter two cases with and without occupant-controlled air movement. Relative humidity was maintained at 60%. We tested thermal comfort, perceived air quality, sick building syndrome symptoms, and cognitive performance. We found that thermal comfort, perceived air quality, and sick building syndrome symptoms are equal or better at 26°C and 29°C than at the common set point of 23°C if a personally controlled fan is available for use. The best cognitive performance (as indicated by task speed) was obtained at 26°C; at 29°C, the availability of an occupant-controlled fan partially mitigated the negative effect of the elevated temperature. The typical Singaporean indoor air temperature set point of 23°C yielded the lowest cognitive performance. An elevated set point in air-conditioned buildings augmented with personally controlled fans might yield benefits for reduced energy use and improved indoor environmental quality in tropical climates.
Keywords: air movement; cognitive performance; perceived air quality; sick building syndrome; thermal comfort; tropically acclimatized person.
© 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Similar articles
-
Effects of increased humidity on physiological responses, thermal comfort, perceived air quality, and Sick Building Syndrome symptoms at elevated indoor temperatures for subjects in a hot-humid climate.Zuo C, Luo L, Liu W. Indoor Air. 2021 Mar;31(2):524-540. doi: 10.1111/ina.12739. Epub 2020 Sep 20. PMID: 32886843
-
Impact of indoor air temperature and humidity in an office on perceived air quality, SBS symptoms and performance.Fang L, Wyon DP, Clausen G, Fanger PO. Indoor Air. 2004;14 Suppl 7:74-81. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2004.00276.x. PMID: 15330775 Clinical Trial.
-
Physiological and psychological reactions of sub-tropically acclimatized subjects exposed to different indoor temperatures at a relative humidity of 70.Fan X, Liu W, Wargocki P. Indoor Air. 2019 Mar;29(2):215-230. doi: 10.1111/ina.12523. Epub 2018 Dec 18. PMID: 30474277 Clinical Trial.
-
Thermal sensations and comfort investigations in transient conditions in tropical office.Dahlan ND, Gital YY. Appl Ergon. 2016 May;54:169-76. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2015.12.008. Epub 2016 Jan 7. PMID: 26851476
-
Summary of human responses to ventilation.Seppänen OA, Fisk WJ. Indoor Air. 2004;14 Suppl 7:102-18. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0668.2004.00279.x. PMID: 15330778 Review.
Cited by
-
Effects of thermal sensation and acclimatization on cognitive performance of adult female students in Saudi Arabia using multivariable-multilevel statistical modeling.Ahmed R, Ucci M, Mumovic D, Bagkeris E. Indoor Air. 2022 Feb;32(2):e13005. doi: 10.1111/ina.13005. PMID: 35225382 Free PMC article.
-
A review of occupancy-based building energy and IEQ controls and its future post-COVID.Anand P, Cheong D, Sekhar C. Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jan 15;804:150249. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150249. Epub 2021 Sep 10. PMID: 34798754 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Quantifying the impact of heat on human physical work capacity; part II: the observed interaction of air velocity with temperature, humidity, sweat rate, and clothing is not captured by most heat stress indices.Foster J, Smallcombe JW, Hodder S, Jay O, Flouris AD, Havenith G. Int J Biometeorol. 2022 Mar;66(3):507-520. doi: 10.1007/s00484-021-02212-y. Epub 2021 Nov 6. PMID: 34743228 Free PMC article.
-
Building and indoor environmental quality assessment of Nigerian primary schools: A pilot study.Toyinbo O, Phipatanakul W, Shaughnessy R, Haverinen-Shaughnessy U. Indoor Air. 2019 May;29(3):510-520. doi: 10.1111/ina.12547. Epub 2019 Mar 20. PMID: 30807666 Free PMC article.
-
Supplementary opinions on alternative cooling technologies in hot climate.Yang B, Wang F. Int J Biometeorol. 2018 Oct;62(10):1927-1928. doi: 10.1007/s00484-018-1588-1. Epub 2018 Aug 2. PMID: 30073409 Free PMC article.
Publication types
MeSH terms
Related information
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
NCBI Literature Resources
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894