An assessment of thermal comfort during winter in a humid subtropical city of India
摘要
This study aimed to assess the outdoor thermal comfort conditions in three diverse outdoor public spaces (Site 1: Hussainabad Clock Tower, Site 2: Shaheed Smarak, Site 3: Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar Samajik Parivartan Prateek Sthal) in Lucknow city, India. On-site micrometeorological measurements (objective measurements) and a user’s perception survey (subjective assessment) were conducted to evaluate outdoor thermal comfort during the coldest month of the winter season. ENVI-met 5.0.3 simulation software was used to calculate PET (Physiological Effective Temperature) and Tmrt (mean radiant temperature) using climate data. The neutral PET across all sites was 22.90 °C. The PET was revealed to be 22.83 °C, 23.77 °C, and 22.11 °C in Site 1, Site 2, and Site 3, respectively. Site 3 was found to be most thermally comfortable in terms of objective measurements. However, subjective assessment indicated that Site 1 and Site 2 were perceived as more psychologically comfortable. Through various statistical analysis, significant relationships were established between the micro-meteorological parameters, thermal sensation and derived thermal indices (PET) to estimate the effect of these on outdoor thermal comfort.