Thermal comfort of a typical secondary school building in Cyprus

• Thermal comfort of a secondary school building is studied.
• Infield measurements (temperature and humidity) are recorded for the different seasons of a year and thermal indicators, PMV and PPD are calculated through questionnaire campaign.
• Mainly during winter and summer the majority of users feel discomfort.
• The temperature differences between outdoor and indoor spaces are low when the air conditioners are not working and this occurs since the building is non-insulated.
• The investigation also presents differences in the sense of thermal comfort between the two genders.

A field study is conducted in a secondary school building in Cyprus, to assess the indoor thermal conditions during the students’ lesson hours. The survey is carried out in Neapolis Gymnasium which is a typical Cypriot school located in the coastal city of Limassol. Requirements for comfort are critical especially to pupils’ performance and welfare.Classrooms, laboratories and administrative offices are chosen for investigation of indoor and outdoor thermal conditions. Air temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH) are monitored using indoor and outdoor sensors simultaneously throughout the four seasons of the year. Data analysis compares the results with international standards, ASHRAE Standard 55, ISO Standard 7730, etc.Thermal comfort variables are measured at the same time when students and teachers completed a questionnaire which focuses on their perception of the indoor climate. Fanger's comfort indicators are calculated (PMV, predicted mean vote and PPD, predicted percentage of dissatisfied people) and the actual people clothing and metabolic rate are estimated in order to conclude to the prevailing indoor thermal conditions of the school.