Thermal Comfort
摘要
Many people in developing countries lack such resources, leading to challenges in maintaining thermal comfort, especially in extreme weather conditions. Adaptive comfort considerations and passive design are crucial in tropical, hot humid and climate where the straightforward response to discomfort in this climate such as in Africa, has been the adoption of air conditioners and mechanical cooling. Paradoxically, developing countries are most susceptible to climate change issues further exacerbating difficulties associated with thermal comfort. The lack of specific thermal comfort standards tailored to the unique conditions of developing countries is indeed a significant challenge. Most existing standards and guidelines for thermal comfort are based on research conducted in developed countries with temperate climates and may not fully account for the diverse environmental, socio-economic, and cultural contexts found in many developing regions. In this chapter, an in-depth discussion is provided on thermal comfort in developing counties. Further, the two most common models for thermal comfort measurement are elucidated. The chapter provides a cogent discussion on the state of thermal comfort measurement and its relation with global standards together with the challenges with its standardization in developing countries and how this affects the decarbonization agenda. The chapter provides developmental pathways to thermal comfort standardization and measurement in developing countries.