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A Review on Adaptive Thermal Comfort of Office Building for Energy-Saving Building Design

Author

Listed:
  • Prativa Lamsal

    (Department of Architecture, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur 44800, Nepal)

  • Sushil Bahadur Bajracharya

    (Department of Architecture, Institute of Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur 44800, Nepal)

  • Hom Bahadur Rijal

    (Department of Restoration Ecology and Built Environment, Tokyo City University, Yokohama 224-8551, Japan)

Abstract

The thermal environment quality of office buildings has an important role because thermal comfort is directly related to human productivity. Thermal comfort conditions are influenced by climate, location, and the built environment; hence, comfort standards are required to assist building designers in creating a comfortable indoor environment for building occupants. In this context, the present study analyzes the adaptive thermal comfort studies conducted in office buildings from various countries. A large number of research articles selected from the Scopus database were considered for this study. Based on the analysis, outdoor climatic conditions have a greater influence on indoor thermal conditions in naturally ventilated than in air-conditioned office buildings. The temperature required for comfort is as low as 17.6 °C and as high as 31.2 °C in naturally ventilated buildings. An adaptive comfort equation for naturally ventilated and air-conditioned office buildings has also been proposed to predict the indoor comfort temperature. Various studies show that a substantial amount of energy can be saved by changing the set point and natural ventilation. Furthermore, this study successfully provides hearty evidence that there is a need for climate-specific standards on thermal comfort for energy-efficient design development because existing comfort standards might not be applicable to all climates.

Suggested Citation

  • Prativa Lamsal & Sushil Bahadur Bajracharya & Hom Bahadur Rijal, 2023. "A Review on Adaptive Thermal Comfort of Office Building for Energy-Saving Building Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-23, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:3:p:1524-:d:1056969
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Panagiotis Michailidis & Iakovos Michailidis & Dimitrios Vamvakas & Elias Kosmatopoulos, 2023. "Model-Free HVAC Control in Buildings: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-45, October.
    2. Joy Dalmacio Billanes & Zheng Grace Ma & Bo Nørregaard Jørgensen, 2025. "Data-Driven Technologies for Energy Optimization in Smart Buildings: A Scoping Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-49, January.
    3. Jiale Tang & Kuixing Liu & Weijie You & Xinyu Zhang & Tuomi Zhang, 2023. "Research on Online Temperature Prediction Method for Office Building Interiors Based on Data Mining," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Kahori Genjo & Haruna Nakanishi & Momoka Oki & Hikaru Imagawa & Tomoko Uno & Teruyuki Saito & Hiroshi Takata & Kazuyo Tsuzuki & Takashi Nakaya & Daisaku Nishina & Kenichi Hasegawa & Taro Mori & Hom Ba, 2023. "Development of Adaptive Model and Occupant Behavior Model in Four Office Buildings in Nagasaki, Japan," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-30, August.
    5. Chaima Magraoui & Lotfi Derradji & Abdelkader Hamid & Soumia Oukaci & Amel Limam & Abdelatif Merabtine, 2025. "A Smart Roller Shutters Control for Enhancing Thermal Comfort and Sustainable Energy Efficiency in Office Buildings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-22, February.
    6. Liang Xie & Lai Fan & Dayu Zhang & Jixin Liu, 2023. "Passive Energy Conservation Strategies for Mitigating Energy Consumption and Reducing CO 2 Emissions in Traditional Dwellings of Peking Area, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-24, November.
    7. Tyler R. Stevens & Nathan B. Crane & Rydge B. Mulford, 2023. "Topology Morphing Insulation: A Review of Technologies and Energy Performance in Dynamic Building Insulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-38, October.

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