Subjective Perception of Thermal Comfort Study in Air-conditioned University Laboratories

Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with complex thermal factors. There are three main factors that can affect the human comfort, which must be considered by engineers before designing air-conditioning systems; effective temperature, relative humidity and air motion. Present study aims to investigate on the environmental conditions and occupants comfort in teaching and learning laboratories in Engineering Campus and Main Campus of Universiti Sains Malaysia. A study was carried out in order to identify differences in the perception of thermal comfort of laboratory staffs in centralized air-conditioned and ‘split-unit type of air-conditioned laboratories used in Engineering Campus and Main Campus, respectively. American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineer (ASHRAE) [1] 7-points scale of thermal sensation was used to evaluate thermal sensation of the laboratory occupants. Based on the occupants’ perception towards the scale, generally 75% and 55% of the respondents in Main Campus and Engineering Campus respectively voted within the central three categories of thermal acceptibility (-1, 0, 1). Besides that, based on 5-Likert scale on general comfort, 85% and 87% of the respondents from Main Campus and Engineering Campus respectively found to be satisfied with their laboratory environment.