Comfort Temperature and Preferred Temperature in Taiwan

Abstract

Field experiments, using survey questionnaires and physical measurements simultaneously, were conducted in residences in Taiwan to investigate Taiwanese subjective thermal responses and comfort perception. Responses from those subjects suggest a thermal preference temperature, 25.0 °C lower than the thermal neutral temperature, 26.0 °C, by 1.0 °C. A new predicted formula (PD-TSV) of percentage of dissatisfied relating to mean thermal sensation votes is suggested. In comparison with the PMV-PPD model, the new formula reveals that besides an increase in minimum rate of dissatisfied from 5% to 11% and a shift of the TSV with minimum PD to the cool side of sensation scale is found. The limits of sensation votes corresponding to 80% acceptability are −1.50 and +0.70, and a suitable comfort zone of 80% acceptability for Taiwan range from 20.9 to 28.9 °C.

Another field study also conducted to investigate the thermal sensation of elderly people in Taiwan with an age greater than 60 years old. In the summer season, the thermal neutral temperature, 25.2 °C, for elderly is only slightly higher than the thermal preferred temperature, 25.0 °C. This indicates the optimal TSV for elderly is close to thermal neutrality. The PD-TSV model for elderly revealed that the sensation votes corresponding to 80% acceptability were ±0.75 for elders, about ±0.10 less than the levels projected by ISO 7730 model. The range of operation temperature for 80% thermal acceptability for elders in the summer was 23.2–27.1 °C, narrower than the range of 20.9–28.9 °C reported for non-elders.