A THERMAL COMFORT EVALUATION OF A JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING IN ACCRA, GHANA
Main Article Content
Keywords
Thermal comfort, occupants, school buildings, tropics.
Abstract
A field study of students’ and teachers’ thermal comfort in a school building (St. Andrews Junior High School) was carried out at Madina, Accra. The building was chosen due to the sustainable design principles (e.g. form, orientation and ventilation) employed in the design and construction of the school. The aim of the study was to investigate peoples’ perception of comfort as well as examine the prevailing thermal conditions in the classrooms. Moreover, a comparative analysis of the results with the worldwide accepted ASHRAE recommendations was carried-out. The study employed the use of subjective assessments through questionnaires and physical measurements. The measured environmental parameters required the use of Hobo data sensors, these measured temperature and relative humidity values. The subjective responses concerned the occupants’ judgement about their thermal environment. One significant conclusion drawn was that the classroom spaces on the ground floor experienced lower temperatures, whilst those on the first floor had a higher temperature (difference of 2°C). The first floor classrooms experienced higher thermal conditions as a result of the absence of a ceiling. In addition, though a large majority of the respondents accepted their overall thermal conditions, a number of them still voted below the standard set by ASHRAE of 80% positive votes by occupants for thermal comfort. The study also showed that respondents in tropical countries such as Ghana may have a higher heat tolerance, since most of the interviewees accepted the existing thermal conditions which exceeded the standard of between 26°C and 28°C (summer comfort range) by 1°C to 5°C.
Article Metrics Graph
References
Adebamowo, M.A. and Akande, O.K. (2010). Indoor Thermal Comfort for Residential Buildings in Hot Dry Climate of Nigeria, http://www.nceub.org.uk, pdf, Accessed: September 10, 2010.
Alder, D. (1999). Metric Handbook Planning and Design Data, 2nd ed. Oxford: Architectural press, pp. 621 628.
AL Najem, A.A. (2010). The Effects of Orientation, Ventilation, and Varied WWR on the Thermal Performance of Residential Rooms in the Tropics, pdf, http:// www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/jsd/article/, Accessed: September 4, 2010.
Arens, E., Bauman, F. and Huizenga, C. (2002). ASHRAE Investigation of Thermal Comfort at High Humidity, Building Science at University of California at Berkeley, http://www.arch.ced.berkeley.edu/resources/bldgsci/research/thermalcomf.html.
ASHRAE (2004). Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, ANSI
ASHRAE Standard 55 2004,www. ashrae.org/template/TechnologyLinkLand/category/163
Aucliciens, A. and Szokolay, S.V. (2007). Passive and Low Energy Architecture, International Design Tools and Techniques, University Of Queensland, Department of Architecture, pdf, www.arct.ac.uk.
Aynsley, R.M., Harkness, E.L. and Szokolay, S.V. (1996). Relief from Heat Stress in School Classrooms, Report Written for Queensland Department of Education, Australian Institute of Tropical Architecture, James Cook University, Townsville, NQ.
Busch, J.F. (1990). Thermal Response to the Thai Office Environment, ASHRAE Transactions, Vol.96 (1), pp.859 872.
Chenvidyakarn, T. (2007). Passive Design Techniques for Thermal Comfort in Hot Humid Climate, pdf, www. shibaura it.ac.
Chukiatman, K. (1998). Natural Lighting for Reducing Energy Consumption: Case Study of Buildings at Chulalongkorn University, Chulalongkorn.
Havenith, G., Holmer, I. and Parsons, K. (2002). Personal Factors in Thermal Comfort Assessment: Clothing Properties and Metabolic Heat Production, http://www.sciencedirect.com, Accessed: September 19, 2010.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) (2011). Thermal Comfort: The Six Basic factors, http://www.hse.gov.uk/thermal factors, Accessed: October 19, 2011.
Heerwagen, D. (2004). Passive and Active Environmental Controls: Informing the Schematic Designing of Buildings, First Edition, McGraw Hill, New York.
Herkel, S., Knapp, U. and Pfafferott, J. (2005). A Preliminary Model of User Behaviour Regarding the Manual Control of Windows in Office Buildings, In I. Beausoleil--Morrison & M. Bernier (eds.), Ninth International IBPSA Conference, Building Simulation 2005. Montréal, Canada, 15 -- 18 August, pp. 403 -- 410.
Hussein, I. and Rahman, H.A. (2009). Field Study on Thermal Comfort in Malaysia, Euro Journal of Scientific Research, http//www.eurojournal.com/ejsr.htm, Accessed: April 15, 2011.
Hussein, I., Ibrahim, M.I.M., Yusoff, M.Z. and Bosrooh, M.H. (2002). Thermal Comfort Zone of Campus Buildings in Malaysia, Proceedings of the BSME--ASME International Conference on Thermal Engineering, 31st.Dec 2001--2nd. January 2002, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Hyde, R. (2000). Climate Responsive Design, First Edition, E & FN Spon, United Kingdom.
Klein, O. and Schlenger, J. (2008). Basics: Room Conditioning, Birkhaeuser Verlag, Berlin.
Koranteng, C. (2011). The thermal Performance of an Educational Office Building in Ghana, International Journal of Applied Science Research, 3 (4):222--232.
Koranteng, C., Nyame--Tawiah, D. and Quansah, E. (2011). A Psychrometric Analysis of Thermal Comfort in Low--Rise Office Buildings in Ghana, Journal of Science and Technology, Ghana (JUST) Vol.31, No.1, pp 76--88.
Koranteng, C. and Abaitey, E.G. (2010). The Effects of Form and Orientation on Energy Performance of Residential Buildings in Ghana, Journal of Science and Technology, vol. 30, No.1, pp. 71--81
Koranteng, C. and Mahdavi, A., (2010). An Inquiry into the Thermal Performance of Five Office Buildings in Ghana, 10th Rehva World Congress, Sustainable Energy Use in Buildings, CLIMA 2010, Antalya, Turkey, May 9 –– 12, 2010.
Kwok, A.G. (1998). Thermal Comfort in Tropical Classrooms, ASHRAE Transactions 104 (1B), pp. 1031––1047, http:// www.sciencedirect.com, Accessed: September 7, 2011.
Lechner, N. (2001). Heating, Cooling, Lighting: Design Methods for Architects, Second Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, USA.
Mahdavi, A., Mohammadi, A., Kabir, E. and Lambeva, L. (2007). User Control Actions in Buildings: Patterns and Impact, Well Being Indoors. Clima 2007, 10 -- 14 June, Helsinki, Finland, Seppänen O, Säteri J, (Ed.), ISBN: 978--952--99898--2--9. Paper--No. C03.
Nicol, F.J. (2001). Characterising Occupant Behaviour in Buildings: Towards a Stochastic Model of Occupant Use of Windows, Lights, Blinds, Heaters and Fans, Seventh International IBPSA Conference, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 13--15, pp. 1073 -- 1078.
Nicol, F. and Roaf, S. (2005). Post--Occupancy Evaluation and Field Studies of Thermal Comfort, Building Research and Information, 33(4): 338 –– 349, July/August 2005.
Nyuk, H.W. and Shan S.K. (2003). Thermal Comfort in Classrooms in the Tropics, Energy and Buildings 35, Elsevier, http:// www.sciencedirect.com, Accessed: September 7, 2011.
Olesen, B.W. and Brager, G.S. (2004). A Better Way to Predict Comfort., ASHRAE Journal, http://www.cbe.berkeley.edu/research/thermal comfort, Accessed: September 5, 2010.
Prescott, K. (2001). Thermal Comfort in School Buildings in the Tropics, www.yourbuilding.org/library/1_DES42.pdf, Accessed: September 5, 2011.
Rijal, H. B., Tuohy, P., Humphreys, M. A., Nicol, J. F., Samuel, A., Raja, I. A. and Clarke, J. (2008). Development of Adaptive Algorithms for the Operation of Windows, Fans and Doors to Predict Thermal Comfort and Energy Use in Pakistani Buildings, ASHRAE Transactions, Atlanta, USA.
Salmon, C. (1999). Architectural Design for Tropical Regions, First Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, USA.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P. and Thornhill, A. (2007), Research Methods for Business Students, 4th ed, Prentice Hall Financial Times, Harlow.
Standard of Building Biology Testing Methods (SBM), (2008). Evaluation Guidelines, www.baubiologie.ca, Accessed: February 26, 2011.
Stein, B. and Reynolds, J.S. (2000). Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings, Ninth Edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, USA, pp. 455--475.
Sumanon, R., (2004). The Unique Angle of Roof Slope Effecting Thermal Comfort in the Traditional Thai House, http:// www.arquitecturatropical.org.pdf, Accessed: September 6, 2011.
Sutter, Y., Dumortier D. and Fontoynont, M. (2006). The Use of Shading Systems in VDU Task Offices: A Pilot Study, Energy and Buildings, 38(7): 780 -- 789.
Szokolay, S. (2004). Introduction to Architectural Science: The Basis of Sustainable Design, First Edition, Architectural Press, Oxford, UK.
U--Sanno, K. (1997). Appropriate Shading Devices for Classrooms, Journal of Energy Research, www.conference.nie.edu, Accessed: September 4, 2010.
Zhang, G., Zheng, C., Yang, W., Zhang, Q. and Moschandreas, J.D. (2007). Thermal Comfort Investigation of Naturally Ventilated Classrooms in a Subtropical Region, College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University China.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
The Journal of Construction Project Management and Innovation (JCPMI) is committed to the principles of Open Access publishing and upholds the ethos of freely disseminating research findings to enhance knowledge and understanding within the field of construction project management and innovation.
In accordance with our commitment to open scholarly communication, all articles published by JCPMI are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC). This licensing agreement allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the original author and source are credited. The license also ensures that authors retain copyright over their work while allowing the wider community to access, use, and build upon the content.
The terms of the CC BY-NC license are designed to facilitate the following:
- Attribution: Users must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. This can be done in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses the user or their use.
- Non-Commercial: Users may not use the material for commercial purposes.
- No Additional Restrictions: Users may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
By publishing with JCPMI, authors agree to these terms and ensure that their work is accessible and reusable under the conditions of the CC BY-NC license, thereby contributing to the ongoing exchange of knowledge and information in an Open Access environment.
Creative Commons CC Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License