Comfort temperature in air conditioned office buildings: case study of Indonesia and Singapore

Abstract

Air-conditioning system has been a basic feature in many office buildings, especially in tropical climate where buildings are exposed to solar radiation all year round. However, air conditioning is a leading source of energy consumption. Efficient energy consumption is highly desirable for commercial, for-profit entities occupying offices. A field study in two countries; Indonesia and Singapore, has been conducted to investigate office building occupants’ thermal comfort. In 2015, questionnaire survey as well as physical parameter measurements were collected from each country. Analysis shows that occupants of air-conditioned building with window-opening behaviour has higher comfort temperature, compared to cooling mode only. The results of this study could be used to better understand comfort temperature in tropical countries.