Thermal comfort in Indian apartments

Abstract

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2018. Socio-political and economic drivers can be historically traced behind the apartment' evolutionary trajectory. Absence and poor adherence to norms appear to have caused thermal discomfort. It pushed occupants toward energy-intensive solutions. India needs to embrace the adaptive thermal comfort model to unburden her import-dependent energy balances. Occupant responses from real buildings underpin this model. This chapter focuses on the field studies in apartments. People in naturally ventilated apartments expressed comfort at 30.3 °C during the hot and warm-humid seasons. Thermal condition indoors varied adaptively with the outdoors. However, discomfort was high in summer. The subjects accustomed to air conditioners had lower comfort temperature. This cyclic path dependency works against India's sustainability agenda.