Field experiments on thermal comfort in campus classrooms in Taiwan

This paper presents the results of the ASHRAE methodology for thermal comfort study applied in Taiwan. Field experiments conducted in 10 naturally ventilated and 26 air-conditioned campus classrooms used survey questionnaires and physical measurements to collect data. A total of 944 individuals in seven universities completed 1294 questionnaires. The chi-square tests were applied to find the significant aspects that affect students’ thermal sensations. The results show that air temperature, air movement and mean radiant temperature have significant influence, but humidity has no statistical significance. By using probit regressive analyses, the thermal neutrality and thermal preference of students occurred at 26.3 °C ET* and 24.7 °C ET*, respectively. Responses from those students suggest a wider acceptable temperature range for occupants in Taiwan. The margins of the acceptable zones obtained from direct and indirect acceptability assessing methods are 21.1–29.8 °C ET* and 24.2–29.3 °C ET*, respectively. When compared with similar studies elsewhere, this finding supports the sentiments on climatic adaptation.