Study on behavioral adaptation for the adaptive thermal comfort and energy saving in Japanese office buildings
H. B. Rijal1*, Supriya Khadka1, Katsunori Amano2, Teruyuki Saito3, Hikaru Imagawa4, Tomoko Tomoko5, Kahori Genjo6, Takata Takata7, Kazuyo Tsuzuki8, Takashi Nakaya9, Daisaku Nishina10, Kenichi Hasegawa11, Taro Mori12
1: Tokyo City University, Tokyo, Japan;
2: Haseko Corporation, Tokyo, Japan;
3: Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan;
4: Osaka Institute of Technology, Osaka, Japan;
5: Mukogawa Women’s University, Hyogo, Japan;
6: Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan;
7: Hiroshima Institute of Technology, Hiroshima, Japan;
8: Kansai University, Osaka, Japan;
9: Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japan;
10: Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan;
11: Akita Prefectural University, Akita, Japan;
12: Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
DOI: 10.62744/CATE.45273.1200-323-329
Email: rijal@tcu.ac.jp
Abstract:
Office workers use a variety of adaptive opportunities to regulate their indoor thermal environment. The behavioural adaptations such as window opening, clothing adjustments, and use of heating/cooling are
important factors for adaptive thermal comfort. It is well-known that they are the most important contributors in the adaptive thermal comfort model. Thus, if we understand the behavioural adaptation properly, we can explain the mechanism of the adaptive model. The indoor thermal environment is often adjusted using the air conditioning in Japanese office buildings to improve thermal comfort and productivity. Thus, it is necessary to conduct research on the behavioural adaptation in the offices because the occupant behaviour is different from behaviour in dwellings. In order to record the seasonal differences in behavioural adaptation and to develop an adaptive algorithm for Japanese offices, we measured temperatures in seven office buildings and conducted the thermal comfort and occupant behaviour survey for over a year. We collected 1,228 samples. The proportion of ?open window? is significantly high in the free running and air conditioned modes. The behavioural adaptation is related
to the outdoor air temperature. The clothing adjustments, heating and cooling use can be predicted by regression equations. These findings can be applied to building thermal simulation to predict the behavioural adaptation and energy use in office buildings.
Keywords: Office Buildings, Occupant Behaviour, Window Opening, Clothing Adjustment, Heating and Cooling Use