It has been known that the human thermal comfort is not exclusively a function of air temperature but also a function of six additional parameters, namely, mean radiant temperature, air velocity, turbulence intensity, humidity, activity level, and clothing insulation. The combined physical and psychological impact of these parameters on thermal comfort is mathematically described in various comfort models. The current comfort models, while use extensive human comfort data, may not be applicable in all world regions due to environmental conditions and people’s expectations. The State of Kuwait has a population of 2.5 million inhabitants with majority of people living in a few populated cities with heavy vehicle traffic, office buildings, factories, petroleum operations, and shopping centers. During the summer months (especially in July and August) the temperature reaches 48 °C in the afternoon, and can sometimes exceed 55 °C requiring extensive use of air conditioning. The traditional clothing (Disdasha) is made of lightweight, white, fabric material to provide some level of comfort. To better understand the regional preferences and assess the applicability of the standard comfort models in Kuwait, important parameters influencing human thermal comfort were measured in ten different government offices and the corresponding PMV indices were calculated. The results were compared with other comfort indices to obtain the most viable comfort index and the appropriate temperature range for local comfort for Kuwait offices. This study is not only important for comfort evaluations but also for evaluation of energy consumption in office buildings.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2004 Heat Transfer/Fluids Engineering Summer Conference
July 11–15, 2004
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Heat Transfer Division and Fluids Engineering Division
ISBN:
0-7918-4690-3
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Evaluation of Human Thermal Comfort in Offices in Kuwait and Assessment of the Applicability of the Standard PMV Model Available to Purchase
Nawaf Al-Mutawa,
Nawaf Al-Mutawa
Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Search for other works by this author on:
Walid Chakroun,
Walid Chakroun
Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Search for other works by this author on:
Mohammad H. Hosni
Mohammad H. Hosni
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Search for other works by this author on:
Nawaf Al-Mutawa
Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Walid Chakroun
Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait
Mohammad H. Hosni
Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Paper No:
HT-FED2004-56787, pp. 999-1009; 11 pages
Published Online:
February 24, 2009
Citation
Al-Mutawa, N, Chakroun, W, & Hosni, MH. "Evaluation of Human Thermal Comfort in Offices in Kuwait and Assessment of the Applicability of the Standard PMV Model." Proceedings of the ASME 2004 Heat Transfer/Fluids Engineering Summer Conference. Volume 1. Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. July 11–15, 2004. pp. 999-1009. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/HT-FED2004-56787
Download citation file:
8
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Bringing Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics Tools for HVAC&R Into the Mainstream
J. Eng. Sustain. Bldgs. Cities (August,2020)
On the Spatio-Temporal End-User Energy Demands of a Dense Urban Environment
J. Sol. Energy Eng (August,2017)
Thermal Performance Evaluation of Textile Waste as an Alternative Solution for Heat Transfer Reduction in Buildings
J. Sol. Energy Eng (April,2018)
Related Chapters
Dynamic Cool Roofing Systems
Advanced Energy Efficient Building Envelope Systems
Incremental Model Adjustment
Nonlinear Regression Modeling for Engineering Applications: Modeling, Model Validation, and Enabling Design of Experiments
Identifying, Capturing and Transferring Learning into Action
Knowledge Tornado: Bridging the Corporate Knowledge Gap