Evaluating Indoor Thermal Comfort of the Elderly During Summer in the Hot-Humid and Less-Windy Climate

Abstract

There is still a lack of research on the evaluation of summer thermal comfort for the elderly. This study conducted a questionnaire survey and indoor thermal environment measurement in Nanning, China, with a hot-humid and less-windy climate. Six hundred elderly subjects were selected to answer the thermal sensation questionnaire in the naturally ventilated residential buildings during the summer. The analysis results of the collected data show that the neutral temperature for the local elderly is 28.0°C, and the range of operative temperature for 80% thermal acceptability is 26.4°C–29.5°C. An adaptive thermal comfort model was developed using the measured data, and its predicted thermal neutral temperature is 28.1°C, nearly equal to the measured value (28.0°C). The thermal neutral temperatures for the local male and female elderly are 27.7°C and 28.2°C, respectively, which reveals that there are gender differences in the thermal comfort. It was also found that the outdoor air temperature has a significant impact on the thermal neutral temperature, and the developed adaptive thermal comfort model can more accurately predict the indoor thermal comfort of the local elderly. The findings in this study can provide theoretical support and supporting data for the indoor thermal environment design of new old-age facilities and aging-adapted renovation of existing buildings in hot and humid climates.