EVALUATION OF THERMAL COMFORT PERFORMANCE IN A HYBRID (NV & AC) FOOD COURT

Abstract

With global warming and rising temperatures, the potential issue of thermal discomfort in outdoor environments is on the rise. This concerns a large majority of Singaporeans as it is part of their culture to dine at naturally ventilated hawker centres. This provides a compelling justification for in-depth evaluation of the hawker centre’s thermal comfort levels in order to satisfy the patrons.

The Deck, located in the National University of Singapore, served as the site of this field study as it contains both indoor and outdoor dining areas. By investigating the thermal parameters, the hypothesis which stated that occupants in all dining areas of The Deck voted neutral in thermal sensation was rejected.

Both objective and subjective measurement were conducted to derive substantial information on the actual and perceived thermal conditions of the three sections of dining areas, which are lower naturally ventilated, upper naturally ventilated, and air-conditioned. The objective measurements included a floor plan analysis, walk through analysis, and in-situ measurement. Whereas the subjective measurement included an questionnaire issued to the patrons at The Deck. For all three dining areas, it was found that the PMV and PPD values fell beyond they acceptable range. This implies that corrective action has to be implemented at The Deck in order to achieve satisfaction levels for majority of its occupants. On the other hand, despite voting beyond the acceptability range, more patrons perceived the thermal environment to be satisfactory.

The proposed solutions focus on improving the controllability of thermal conditions for the occupants. However, the results may not be applicable to other hybrid-environment hawker centres due differences in building structure and existing air distribution systems.