Natural ventilation: Impact of wall material and windows on thermal comfort

Abstract

Thermal comfort in a naturally ventilated test room is investigated. The test room is a lightweight portable cabin located in a sheltered area at Loughborough University, UK. Thermal comfort simulations were carried out for various sizes of openings and glazing. Medium and high thermal mass were added to the test room and their effects on thermal comfort were investigated. The results suggested that thermal mass has significant effect on thermal comfort parameters. Adding a 200 mm thick layer of medium-density concrete to the walls improved the thermal comfort over the summer by 40%.