Observational study of the indoor environment and energy use in office buildings in tropical Asia

In recent years, the design for office buildings in tropical Asia have been affected by the American principals. In terms of energy conservation in the building sector, it is necessary to reveal the actual conditions in each region and the requirements of the standards, which are based on American building standards. This study thus investigated the indoor and outdoor thermal environments, the thermal sensation of the occupants, and energy consumption in office buildings in tropical Asia. This study simulated two models for a comparative analysis of real conditions and standards of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers standard 90.1-2010. The simulation analysis showed that the electric power consumption of the actual models in Bangkok and Singapore were large because of the selection of a low temperature setting. Furthermore, in several cases investigated, the internal thermal loads, such as lighting and electrical equipment, were lower than the reference value. From the analysis, this paper presents the differences between reference values used in the Western and American standards, and the actual situation in tropical areas.