Measured and perceived environmental comfort: field monitoring in an Italian school.
Microclimatic conditions were recorded in an Italian school and Fanger's indexes PMV and PPD were calculated under different conditions. Students' sensations were investigated four times by means of two surveys, one related to actual microclimatic conditions and one on overall satisfaction, interaction occupant-building and reactions to discomfort. Pupils' classroom position was considered to look for possible influence on thermal comfort: a difference emerged from PMV and the survey, but the results obtained from the two approaches differ for both the entity of discomfort and its distribution within each classroom. Innovative multivariate nonparametric statistical techniques were applied to compare and rank the classrooms in accordance with students' subjective perceptions; a global ranking has been also calculated, considering thermal and visual comfort and air quality. Comparing pupil-sensation-based ranking with environmental parameters no clear correspondence was found, except for mid-season, where PMV, CO2 concentration and desk illuminance were similar in all the classrooms.
Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy. Electronic address: valeriadegiuli@gmail.com.
Valeria
V
De Giuli
Department of Industrial Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, via Venezia 1, 35131 Padova, Italy.
Roberto
R
Zecchin
Department of Management and Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, Stradella San Nicola, 3, Vicenza, Italy.
Livio
L
Corain
Department of Management and Engineering, Università degli Studi di Padova, Stradella San Nicola, 3, Vicenza, Italy.
Luigi
L
Salmaso
D002648:Child; D004777:Environment; D005160:Facility Design and Construction / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008029:Lighting / Q000592:standards; D012574:Schools / Q000592:standards; D013696:Temperature
Indoor environmental quality; Occupant satisfaction; School