An Investigation into the Effect of Gender and Clothing on Thermal Comfort and Energy Savings in Classrooms: A Case Study of University Buildings in the State of Kuwait

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dc.contributor.authorEl-Azzeh, Sana
dc.date.accessioned2023-04-28T13:31:13Z
dc.date.available2023-04-28T13:31:13Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractThermal comfort is ranked amongst the most crucial conditions for enhancing comfort, satisfaction, and productivity of occupants in an indoor environment. Despite being regarded as important, there is a current paucity of empirical research focusing specifically on thermal comfort in educational buildings in hot arid climates compared to educational buildings in tropical climates. People in countries with hot arid climates like Kuwait spend more than 90% of their time indoors. The significance of creating cozy interior thermal conditions in educational facilities is highlighted by the fact that students spend more time at school than any other place apart from their homes. Since productivity, well-being, and energy saving in universities are all tied to thermal comfort, its significance has increased recently. This study aims to fill this gap and assess the significance of variables affecting thermal comfort and indoor climate conditions amongst students occupying hybrid air-conditioned buildings at the Australian University in Kuwait. Many parameters, including clothing, gender, air velocity, humidity, air temperature, operative temperature, predicted mean vote (PMV) and thermal sensation vote (TSV) were examined in prior empirical investigations of thermal comfort in tropical settings. What is not fully understood, for example, is the impact of gender and clothing style (traditional/Islamic vs. western) on thermal comfort. As a result, this research is conducted as a case study and involves gathering and analyzing numerical data in order to determine the link between various factors. To get quantifiable data on their assessment of thermal comfort and desired comfort while inhabiting buildings at the Australian University, 325 students specifically engaged in surveys while actual environmental variables were measured. Information on the environment, demographics, and heat perception is gathered through questionnaire surveys. To analyze the gathered data, descriptive and inferential statistics were both used. While inferential statistics identified the link between variables, descriptive statistics highlighted patterns in the data that had been gathered. The described study hypotheses were tested using quantitative analytic methods such as the two tailed independent samples t-test, ANOVA, and testing for associations such as Mann-Whitney, Welch's test and regression analysis. After running the ANOVAs, the post hoc test was used vii to identify which groups showed statistically significant differences. And lastly, Cohen's d (standardized difference between means) was also used. Moreover, an energy simulation model was developed using EnergyPlus software to calculate the amount of energy to be saved after implementing the comfort temperature that mostly satisfies females and males in educational buildings. Ultimate results from the experimental approach revealed that there is a relationship between gender, clothing types and thermal sensations, and that satisfying both females and males would be in the comfort range from 20°C to 22°C with neutral temperature of 21°C considering integrated data collected. These results have a direct implication on energy consumption. The simulation model results revealed that over 11% of energy is to be saved annually if this study's results apply to educational buildings in Kuwaiten
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2086/22787
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherDe Montfort Universityen
dc.publisher.departmentFaculty of Computing, Engineering and Mediaen
dc.titleAn Investigation into the Effect of Gender and Clothing on Thermal Comfort and Energy Savings in Classrooms: A Case Study of University Buildings in the State of Kuwaiten
dc.typeThesis or dissertationen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnamePhDen

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