The adaptive model of thermal comfort and energy conservation in the builtenvironment

Current thermal comfort standards and the models underpinning them purport to be equally applicable across all types of building. ventilation, occupan cy pattern and climate zone. A recent research project sponsored by the Ame rican Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASH RAE, RP-884) critically evaluated these assumptions by statistically analys ing a large database of research results in building comfort studies from a ll over the world (n=22,346). The results reported in this paper indicated a clear dependence of indoor comfort temperatures on outdoor air temperatur es (instead of outdoor effective temperature ET* used in RP-884), especiall y in buildings that were free-running or naturally ventilated. These findin gs encourage significant revisions of ASHRAE's comfort standard in terms of climatically relevant prescriptions. The paper highlights the potential fo r reduced cooling energy requirements by designing for natural or hybrid ve ntilation in many moderate climate zones of the world.