This paper presents a logistic proposal for the research project related to thermal comfort in Rio de Janeiro’s open spaces. Part of the investigation consists of collecting weather data and applying a thermal sensation survey to pedestrians in Rio de Janeiro city’s centre. The weather station used is a Davis-Pro2, composed by a cylindrical module body moulded on plastic and sustained by a central tube attached to a tripod, both in galvanized iron.

The main purpose of this paper is to review the effect of the dynamic aspect of natural air movement on occupants’ thermal comfort. Recent advanced investigations addressed the dynamic aspect of air movement in terms of turbulence intensity, probability distribution and power spectrum. This paper is not only about providing a thorough description and discussion on the underlying physical mechanisms of these factors, it is also about reviewing the effect of these parameters on occupants’ thermal sensation, perception and comfort under different thermal conditions.

The Low Income Group (L.I.G) in Lagos, Nigeria represents about 70% of the 18million population of the state. They are an important part of the economic activities in the state, with the bulk of public transportation and informal trading being undertaken by these groups. Housing, as the second most important human need after food has a profound influence on the health, efficiency, social behaviour, satisfaction and general welfare of the community.

The research presented in this paper was conducted in order to test whether the thermal preferences of occupants in low energy houses are influenced by their environmental values. This was done through a thermal comfort study and Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI) of 40 low energy households located within two very different climates, cold temperate and hot humid, in Australia.

While the desire for thermal control in our homes may today appear natural, its provision in the domestic sphere of early twentieth-century Australia was shaped by debates about regional development, household reform and racial acclimatisation. Contemporary publications by experts in tropical medicine highlight how thermal comfort research in Australia was intimately connected to the political objectives of white settlement in the tropical North.

A post-occupancy evaluation was carried out in three prefabricated timber housing developments in the UK to identify the potential of summertime overheating. All the case studies selected are recipients of various low-energy or sustainability awards built within the last eight years. Two of the case studies are modern multi-storey apartments blocks (Bridport and Stadthaus) and the third one (Oxley Woods) a housing development with ten different prototypes.

This paper develops and validates an agent-based model (ABM) of occupant behaviour using data from a one-year field study in a mid-sized, air-conditioned office building.  The full ABM is presented in detail using a standard protocol for describing this type of model.

Indigenous architecture’s adaption to its climate and its use of local materials has attracted interest in the search for a sustainable built environment. In Chile surviving examples include the iconic Ruka Lafkenche and the little known Fogón Pehuenche. United by the world outlook of the Mapuche people, these two examples are located in different climates and as a result different construction systems have developed.

This paper describes a pilot study testing the applicability of using building performance simulation (BPS) to quantify the impact of 28 energy saving behaviour changes on the residential space heating demand, based on a mid-terraced house located in the southwest of England. The 28 behaviour change options were collected based on a combination of literature review and expert knowledge. DesignBuilder V3.2, whose thermal dynamic simulation engine is Energyplus 7.2, was used to predict the impact of each behaviour change option on the space heating demand of the case study house.

The need to identify occupants’ behaviour-responses to thermal discomfort during the heating season has become one of the priorities in the quest to reduce energy demand. The current models have long been associated with people’s behaviour by predicting their state of thermal comfort or rather discomfort. These assumed that occupants would act upon their level of discomfort through two-types of response set as involuntary mechanisms of thermoregulation, and behaviour-responses.