ENERGY PERFORMANCE AND THERMAL COMFORT OF AIR-CONDITIONED AND NATURALLY-VENTILATED SPACES BETWEEN TWO TERTIARY BUILDINGS

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the energy performance and thermal comfort of air-conditioned (AC) and naturally-ventilated (NV) spaces in tertiary buildings. It is important to balance the energy consumption of buildings with thermal comfort felt by the occupants. Overheating or overcooling of environment will result in consequences that affects the energy consumption of buildings. Therefore, in this study, energy utility data are obtained from the management of two tertiary buildings in order to analyse the Energy Utilisation Index (EUI) and identify the building which consumes more energy. Thermal comfort study which includes in-situ measurement and occupant comfort survey are also being administered to obtain environmental parameters of air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH), mean radiant temperature (Tr), air velocity (Va) and carbon dioxide levels (CO2) and thermal, humidity and air velocity responses from occupants. Then, neutral temperature (Tn) is being tabulated. Results show that most To of AC spaces are within the comfort range and are more linearly related with thermal sensation vote (TSV). However, most To of NV spaces exceed the comfort range and are also less linearly related to TSV. This may be due to the prevailing wind effect and most students’ preference for cooler temperature when studying.