Study of thermal satisfaction in an Australian education precinct

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the role of thermal expectations in achieving thermal comfort in outdoor spaces. Three open spaces in an educational precinct located in the temperate setting of Australia were selected as case study sites to explore how thermal expectations may affect people's thermal responses to outdoor micrometeorological conditions. Three types of data collection methods including questionnaire survey, field measurement and on-site observations were employed to collect thermal comfort information in three consecutive seasons (November 2014, February 2015, and May 2015). Three measures of thermal satisfaction (preferred temperature, neutral temperature, and acceptable thermal range) extracted from people's thermal preferences and sensations were used to analyse the field survey data, determine thermal comfort requirements, and examine thermal stress in the study context. A multi-model theoretical framework was then adopted to explain the pattern of thermal satisfaction among the target population. This framework consisted of three models: "Socio-ecological system model (SESM)", "theory of Alliesthesia" and "theory of rising expectations". The study demonstrated the efficiency of above-mentioned framework to explore thermal comfort requirements in an educational precinct. Overall, the results challenged the validity of equivalency of thermal neutrality and thermal satisfaction enshrined in comfort standards in the study context