Thermal and Air Quality Environment in Elementary SchoolClassrooms Equipped with Air-Conditioning System for Cooling

An investigation was performed in a middle-corridor-type elementary school in Tolcyo, Japan, equipped with an air-conditioning system for cooling.Temperatures and C02 concentrations weremeasured in classrooms, corridors and outdoors.Visual inspections were made on opened andclosed conditions of windows, doors andcurtains, and pupil numbers in classroomsduring each lesson hour. Pupils' and teachers'thermal environment evaluations andenvironmental control behaviors were obtainedfrom questionnaires. As a result, environmentalcontrol behaviors such as operation of coolingsystems and openedlclosed conditions ofwindows and doors varied greatly depending onthe class. When cooling systems were operating,outside windows tended to be closed, whilecorridor-side openings were frequently leftopen. For this reason, C02 concentrations werekept lower than guideline values for schoolclassrooms. Acclimatization to heat wasidentified from changes in thermal sensationsduring summer. Furthermore, pupils whomaintained high metabolic rates feltcomparatively warm, even when the outdoortemperature was low in early winter. Comparedwith the adaptive model's neutral temperatures,neutral temperatures based on thermal sensationwere in agreement when outdoor temperatureswere 20C and above, and lower, approaching outdoor temperatures when outdoor temperatures were below 20 C. Neutral temperatures based on suitable temperature evaluations were 1 C lower than the adaptive model's neutral temperatures.