INVESTIGATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF NATURAL VENTILATION ON INDOOR COMFORT OF OCCUPANTS OF PUBLIC HOSPITAL WARDS WITHIN THE HOT-HUMID CLIMATES

Abstract

With the upsurge of climate change and global push to become more energy efficient in all aspects of life including building ventilation, thermal comfort has become a hotly debated issue in recent years. A field study was carried out on examining the Influence of natural ventilation on indoor comfort of occupants of Public Hospital wards in Nigeria where the climate is classified as Hot-Humid. The focus of this paper is to influence of natural ventilation on indoor comfort of occupants of public hospital wards in the Hot-Humid region. The study also examined the Post-Occupancy Evaluation (POE) of comfort indices in various hospital zones. The measured comfort indices were compared with the comfort threshold by American Society of Heating, Air conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE) Standards. The sources of data adopted include both primary and secondary. Primary data were obtained from post-occupancy evaluation measurements of indoor thermal comfort variables (temperature, air velocity and relative humidity), using Digital Anemometer and Thermometers. Sources of secondary data include periodicals, recent research works and related textbooks. Data obtained were analyzed using correlation coefficient and linear regression statistical tools and presented in form of tables and graphs. Results showed that the average temperature obtained in the four thermal zones examined were above the standard threshold recommended by ASHRAE, 2017. Measured relative humidity (RH) and air velocity were within the comfort range. Result of correlation coefficient showed ‘r’ value as -0.9239, which mean strong negative relationship between indoor air velocity and indoor temperature. Linear regression model established was y = 37.32 - 7.1x, and this implied that as independent variable (x) increases, the dependent variable (y) decreases. Recommendations on how improve air flow through cross ventilation to reduce indoor temperature were put forward.