A Case Study on the Assumption of Mean Radiant Temperature Equals to Indoor Air Temperature in a Free-Running Building

Thermal comfort is basically affected by environmental (mean radiant temperature, indoor air temperature and relative humidity and air velocity) and personal parameters (clothing value and activity level). Mean Radiant Temperature is the most complicated parameter among all thermal comfort parameters due to the difficulty of measurement and calculation processes. Calculation methods are not preferred by the researchers because of the complexity of obtaining angle factors while the measurement methods require very expensive devices such as globe thermometers and radiometers. On the other hand, assumptions are commonly used in thermal comfort studies because of their simplicities. One of the most frequently used assumptions expresses the equality of mean radiant temperature to indoor air temperature. However, the accuracy of this assumption needs further experimental research in order to evaluate thermal comfort, especially in free-running buildings. To this aim, this study proposes to determine the accuracy of the assumption of mean radiant temperature equals to indoor air temperature in a free-running building where Adaptive Thermal Comfort approach is applied in summer condition. Environmental parameters are measured via objective sensors, while adaptive thermal comfort is assessed by a software program. The statistical results show that there are significant deviations between two parameters in summer conditions for a free-running building.