Cross-evaluation of thermal comfort in semi-outdoor spaces according to geometry in Southern Spain

Climatic events in Mediterranean cities, such as heat waves, directly affect their inhabitants. As a result, outdoor thermal comfort in urban spaces is gaining increasing research attention because it is associated with the quality of life in these cities. Significant improvements have been achieved...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Diz Mellado, Eduardo María, Nikolopoulou, Marialena, López Cabeza, Victoria Patricia, Rivera-Gómez, Carlos, Galán-Marín, Carmen
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/143494
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/143494
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2023.101491
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Adaptive thermal comfort
Courtyards
Climate resilience
Microclimate
PET
EN16798
Descripción
Sumario:Climatic events in Mediterranean cities, such as heat waves, directly affect their inhabitants. As a result, outdoor thermal comfort in urban spaces is gaining increasing research attention because it is associated with the quality of life in these cities. Significant improvements have been achieved in the adaptation of buildings; however, a similar level of resilience to climate is not observed in urban spaces. This research proposes quantifying thermal comfort in semi-outdoor enclosed spaces according to EN16798, UTCI and PET. The study is carried out in different cities in southern Spain, employing 20 courtyards with different geometries. Results reveal courtyards as liveable rooms during most hours of the day in summer. The influence of its geometry considering AR is decisive since the impact of outdoor climate on the microclimate of the courtyard depends on it, exceeding values of 60% comfort hours (PET and EN16798) in all case studies during the warm season. When AR > 3, the courtyard reaches comfort 90–100% of the hours of the day and approximately 70–80% when the AR 2–3. In the case of the most common geometries in Mediterranean cities, with AR 1–2, >70% of the hours the courtyards are within the limits of comfort.