Evaluation of indoor thermal environment and passive design based on environmental and psychosocial factors : a case study of workplace environment in the tropics

• Main Author: Neo, Jeffrey Jun Rong
• Other Authors: Chang Wei-Chung
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/53888
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The study investigated thermal conditions and design features of an office through evaluating thermal comfort; thermal acceptance; thermal adjustment behavior; satisfaction of thermal environment and workplace satisfaction among occupants. Also, environmental and psychosocial perspective was adopted to analyze the role of management and facility planners in producing effective design outcomes. Primary data collection was collected with the aid of thermal environment equipment, quantitative survey instruments which measures thermal comfort, and interviews with occupants and facility managers. The hypotheses were that with increased temperatures, thermal comfort; thermal acceptance; thermal adjustment behavior, satisfaction level of the thermal environment and workplace satisfaction would increase on a statistically significant level. The results indicate that with increased temperatures in the workplace environment, thermal comfort, acceptance and adjustment behavior increases. However, satisfaction level of the thermal environment and workplace satisfaction decreases. The results also suggested that effective workplace designs can potentially enhance the ambient thermal environment and reported thermal comfort sensation among occupants. By adopting an effective design strategy, the study provides an integrative approach to preempt or reduce the possible challenges in the area of facility maintenance and operations.