used two types of tests ; laboratory tests and field tests . Laboratory tests were conducted in climate chambers ; a chamber which is enclosed used to test the effects of detailed environmental conditions such as biological items , materials , industrial products and electronic components and devices . On the other hand , field tests ( i . e . testing the indoor products , devices or materials in the environment in which it is to be used ) were conducted in running buildings . Both methods have certain advantages as well as disadvantages however both are useful for researching more in depth on environmental comfort .
It is important to understand what exactly a comfortable thermal environment is in relation to the conditions of an indoor climate , thus we need to consider a number of aspects to understand and analyze the issue in the best way possible . One of the most important aspects taken into consideration is the one on health ; aspects related to illnesses due to building environment ( Mitchell et al . 2007 ). Furthermore , the measurement of comfort has been made in such a way to consider the subjective votes of people as well as the parameters of the measured climate which tend to get transferred from simple laboratory tests to more inclusive field studies . It is also significant to note the difference between indoor climates and out-door climate as well as the role which air conditioning plays in analyzing the results of environmental tests . Thus , the topic of comfort alongside productivity and air quality is something to consider when developing further more research models . On another scale , the benefits of field tests have been noticed considerably as part of thermal comfort analysis . And , the main issue here is to consider deficiencies which may present during the evaluation ; all which lead many professionals to understand the importance of post-occupancy evaluation ( e . g . where conditioning and lighting are adjusted depending on what the occupants need ).
This ultimately plays a critical role on fully understanding the thermal comfort as it is seen in workplaces . It has been backed up by adaptive comfort models which are an important part of energy efficiency as it uses strategies for passive cooling . These models are different from the comfort standards that we are familiar with due to laboratory experiments , they are a result of field studies which shows the importance of external climate conditions on buildings which are not air conditioned . Another part of field studies is also that the indoor environment itself can be shifted due to a number of aspects . Nevertheless , with appropriate tools and surveys we can properly analyze the results associated with these test ( Gossauer and Wagner 2007 ).
Energy-Efficient Air-Conditioning Technologies The quality of indoor air has been numerously considered as high importance along-side the ventilation negatively and positively affecting workforce productivity in different buildings . The two types of buildings mostly considered in this are buildings used for offices and buildings used commercially . Ventilation is one of the vital aspects which help making a built environment of good quality yet we are faced with a major issue , the issue that climate conditions and this is because they do impose a challenge when working on an air conditioning system especially when the climate is humid or hot . Thus , there are two ways to help reduce such challenges and negative effects ; to either use cooling coils which have dehumidifying aspects or to properly use air distribution strategies . In addition , technological advancements have made a step towards improving air conditioning and sir distribution . One example as such is the personalized ventilation systems that have been developed in Singapore .
Furthermore , many studies have been conducted on the matter ; one specific study was conducted in the United States which uses indoor environmental data already available to show that working on improving the environments of buildings ultimately results in major health benefits
794 ZEMCH 2015 | International Conference | Bari - Lecce , Italy