Occupant comfort in mixed-mode spaces within air-conditioned offices

i DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY. iii DEDICATION. iv ACKNOWLDEGMENTS. v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi LIST OF FIGURES. ix LIST OF TABLES. xiii LIST OF APPENDIXES.xv Abbreviations.xvi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION. 1 Background: occupant comfort in contemporary offices . 1 Office design and workplaces. 2 Thermal comfort and the adaptive standard. 3 Research aims and objectives. 4 Thesis structure. 8 CHAPTER TWO: THERMAL COMFORT. 9 Introduction. 9 The concept of thermal comfort. 10 The definition of thermal comfort. 11 Thermal comfort criteria: six basic factors. 12 Standards of thermal comfort.15 Thermal discomfort and Fanger’s model limitations. 19 The two theories and models of thermal comfort research. 22 Field studies and users’ control. 28 The mixed-mode environment. 33 Summary. 38 CHAPTER THREE: OFFICE DESIGN. 40 Introduction. 40 The good office. 40 The question of efficiency vs effectiveness. 41 The role of building and people’s perception: the example of windows. 44 The importance of effectiveness. 46 Important points in the history of the office. 48 The first change: industrial revolution and paper-process office until 1960. 48 The North American and the European traditions. 50 The second change: computer technology and information office of P a g e vii 1980s and 1990s. 53 Today’s demography at work.56 The third change: today’s knowledge office.60 Comfort and air-conditioning in office buildings. 63 Efficiency and control versus effectiveness and users in thermal comfort. 64 The social aspects of comfort and air-conditioning. 66 Efficiency and effectiveness today. 68 Summary. 69 CHAPTER FOUR: RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS. 70 Introduction. 70 This PhD project and the broader context of the ARC Discovery Grant within which this project was conducted. 70 Ethical approval. 73 Research problem. 74 Research question. 75 Case study: National Australia Bank (NAB), Melbourne Docklands. 77 Introduction to NAB building and its organizational strategies. 77 NAB’s Air-conditioning and mixed-mode systems. 80 General research design. 85 1a-Climatic data: outdoor.87 1b-Climatic data: indoor. 90 2-Surveys. 93 3a-Observations: formal periods. 94 3b-Observations: informal periods. 97 Summary. 98 CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION.99 Introduction. 99 Indoor climatic measurements and outdoor climatic conditions. 99 Climatic data: (a) autumn 2009 anomalies and outdoor conditions. 101 Climatic data: (b) autumn 2010 anomalies and outdoor conditions. 102 Climatic data: (c) winter 2009 anomalies and outdoor conditions. 103 Climatic data: (d) spring 2009 anomalies and outdoor conditions. 104 Climatic data: (e) summer 2009/2010 anomalies and outdoor conditions. 105 Wind and rain. 106 Summary: mixed-mode and the four different seasons. 107 Surveys. 108 The first survey: autumn 2009. 109 A1. Age, gender, NAB experience, hours at work. 110 B1. Clothing level and adjustments. 110 C1. People’s familiarity with HVAC. 110 D1. People’s sensations and acceptability of the thermal conditions in the mixed-mode space. 111 P a g e viii E1.People’s sensations and acceptability of the thermal conditions in the mixed-mode space. 113 Summary and discussion of the results of the first survey. 116 Climatic outdoor and indoor conditions on the 29 April 2009, autumn survey. 117 The second survey: spring 2009. 120 A2. Age, gender, NAB experience, hours at work. 120 B2. Clothing level and adjustments. 121 C2. People’s familiarity with HVAC. 121 D2. People’s sensations and acceptability of the thermal conditions in the mixed-mode space. 122 E2.People’s sensations and acceptability of the thermal conditions in the mixed-mode space. 124 Summary and discussion of the results of the second survey. 127 Climatic outdoor and indoor conditions on the 29 April 2009, autumn survey. 129 Comparison between the first and the second survey. 131 Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Actual Mean Vote (AMV). 137 Observations. 138 Results and discussion of observations: autumn, winter, spring, summer. 140 Climatic outdoor and indoor conditions during the four weeks of observations. 145 The importance of the mixed-mode space and NAB. 150 Summary. 155 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION. 157 Summary of research findings . 157 Originality and contribution of the research. 166 Limitations to validity of the research. 167 Implications of the findings and possible future research. 169 Conclusions. 170 REFERENCES. 172 APPENDICES. 193