Effect of horizontal radiant temperature asymmetry on thermal comfort and environmental parameters in a warm sitting area

Taiwan is a hot and humid place;in addition,the sunlight is strong and sufficient,the naturally ventilated classrooms have large-area windows for better lighting and ventilation in Taiwan.However,subjects sitting close to the large-area windows will encounter the problem of radiant temperature asymmetry,which may cause local thermal discomfort during summer.Hence,this paper is to investigate the influence of horizontal radiant temperature asymmetry on the thermal sensation of subjects and the correlative variation of environmental parameters in a warm sitting area.The evaluation results show that the predicted mean vote(PMV)index can be used to predict the overall thermal sensation of a group of sedentary subjects in a warm environment with horizontal radiant temperature asymmetry;even subjects feel local discomfort on exposed parts of their body.The measured results of environmental parameters indicate that the averaged radiant temperature difference is about 4.6 ℃ from right shoulder to left shoulder;the temperature difference does not only cause correlative variations of other environmental parameters,but also result in thermal discomfort on the right cheeks and forearms of subjects in the warm sitting area.