Abstract
Air-conditioned offices in the subtropics are recommended to operate within specified ranges of indoor temperature, relative humidity and air velocity as a consequence of thermal energy conservation. As thermal discomfort leads to productivity loss, air-conditioned offices conducted with some indoor environmental policies for Hong Kong are investigated in this study with relation to thermal energy consumption and productivity loss due to thermal discomfort. Thermal environment in over 1000 air-conditioned Grade-A offices with some indoor environmental policies of Hong Kong being carried out is investigated. Occupant thermal response is specifically considered as an adaptive factor in evaluating the energy consumption and productivity loss. The results provide quantitative means for an environment policy regarding impacts on occupant thermal comfort and worker productivity as an important factor in determining the office environmental efficiency. The model parameters are not exhaustive, with assumptions made for the thermal comfort of occupants in offices in the subtropical areas and have only been determined from recent studies in Hong Kong, which perhaps will limit the model’s usefulness elsewhere. This study is a useful reference source for evaluating an indoor thermal environmental policy regarding the energy consumption, thermal comfort and productivity loss in air-conditioned offices in the subtropical areas.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 559-570 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Publication status | Published - 2010 |
| Event | CIB W070 International Conference in Facilities Management - Duration: 1 Jan 2010 → … |
Conference
| Conference | CIB W070 International Conference in Facilities Management |
|---|---|
| Period | 1/01/10 → … |
Keywords
- Air-conditioned office
- Indoor environment
- Policy
- Thermal energy consumption
- Productivity
