Mapping thermal discomfort responses in residential environments
Stephanie Gauthier, UCL
Thermal comfort has widespread implications, including health and energy demand, yet little is known about the interrelation between thermal-discomfort responses and physical settings. Empirical research on occupants’ interaction with their home environment calls for a mixed-method approach. First, this research reports on an evaluation of the sensitivity of the predictive thermal-comfort model. In light of the results of this analysis, this research presents a mixed-methods’ framework to measure environmental and physiological variables. One of the key aims is to gather accurate measurements while using ‘discreet’ observatory systems to have minimum impact on the occupants’ behaviour. With the recent emergence of, and advancements in, more accurate and affordable sensing technologies, this problem can potentially be overcome.
For example, people’s activity level can now be measured using heart-rate monitors and accelerometers (Figure 1) with the results from these instruments validated by automatic visual diaries (Figure 2).
Figure 1. Mixed-method to measure people’s acivity level.
Figure 2. Preliminary results of a participant activity level, over 2h period.
Developing a method to monitor thermal discomfort response variability – thesis [PDF 5MB]
Project Team
Student(s)
Stephanie Gauthier
Supervisor(s)
Robert Lowe
David Shipworth
Outputs
Conference paper
April 2012, 7th Windsor Conference: The Changing Context of Comfort in an Unpredictable World, Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, UK.
November 2011, Behavior, Energy and Climate Change Conference 2011.
June 2011, European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Summer Study 2011.
Conference poster
Indoor mapping – How to determine people’s use of space in their home
January 2013, Procure, Produce, Perform, An International Conference on Affordable Sustainable Housing, University of Sheffield, UK.
Sensing People’s Responses to Thermal (Dis)Comfort in UK’s Dwellings in Winter
November 2012, LoLo Annual Colloquium 2012.
What are people’s responses to thermal discomfort? Sensing clothing and activity levels using SenseCam
April 2012 – SenseCam 2012: Third Annual Symposium, Oxford, UK.
Predictive thermal comfort model: Are field studies measuring the most influential variables?
November 2011, LoLo Annual Colloquium 2011.
Mapping occupants thermal discomfort responses in households using SenseCam
June 2011, Research students’ conference on domestic energy use, Bath 2011.
Mapping occupants thermal discomfort responses
November 2010, LoLo Annual Colloquium 2010.
Event
Mapping personal thermal comfort – an application to dwellings
November 2012, Presentation at UCL’s Environmental Sustainability Topic Lunch series.
Sensing People’s Responses to Thermal Discomfort in UK’s Dwellings in Winter
September 2012, 5th ECLEER PhD students Seminar, Renardières, France.
People: Tracking personal thermal comfort
May 2012, Presentation to BECKS, A Building, Energy & Comfort Knowledge Sharing Colloquium, Loughborough University, UK.
Human Behaviour: Mapping people’s responses to thermal discomfort in a Victorian dwelling
March 2012, Dana Centre’s Event, Crowdwise – Engineering the future of housing
Mapping people’s responses to thermal discomfort in a Victorian dwelling using automatic diaries
June 2011, Presentation to UCL Centre for Sustainable Heritage as part of their Seminar on ‘Changing Heritage; Reflections on Values, Materials and Climate’.
Mapping Occupants Thermal Discomfort Response in their Home.
March 2011, Presentation to EDF R&D team.
Journal paper (contributing author)
How to monitor people ‘smartly’ to help reducing energy consumption in buildings?
Architectural Engineering and Design Management, Special Issue – The Impact of the Building Occupant on Energy, Taylor & Francis, UK. [Submitted, December 2012]
London’s Urban Heat Island: a multiscaled assessment framework
January 2012, Urban Design and Planning, Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. UK.
Journal paper (first author)
Review of methods to map people’s daily activity – application for smart homes.
Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies. eds. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Germany. [Accepted, May 2012]
Mapping Occupants Thermal Discomfort Responses in Households Using SenseCam
January 2012, In N. M’Sirdi et al., Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 2012, Volume 12, Part 8. eds. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Germany.