Thermal acceptability assessment in buildings located in hot and humid regions in Brazil

The objective of this paper was to perform an analysis on thermal acceptability in naturally ventilated (NVB) and air-conditioned buildings (ACB) located in hot and humid climates in Brazil. Experiments were carried out in April and November 2005 with 1.301 questionnaires based on ISO 10551:1995(E). Indoor and outdoor climatic variables were monitored simultaneously. The results revealed that 53% of the occupants of NVB and 78% of ACB were thermally satisfied. However, some restrictions were observed with the applications of the following methodologies: ISO/FDIS 7730:2005(E); ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55:2004; Adaptive Temperature Limits (ATG) and prEN15251: 2005(E). Differences were observed between thermal sensation (TSV) and predicted mean vote (PMV) and between the subject's percentages expressing thermal unacceptability of the environment and the PPD calculated according to ISO/FDIS 7730:2005(E).