Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Assessment of daytime outdoor comfort levels in and outside the urban area of Glasgow, UK

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
International Journal of Biometeorology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

To understand thermal preferences and to define a preliminary outdoor comfort range for the local population of Glasgow, UK, an extensive series of measurements and surveys was carried out during 19 monitoring campaigns from winter through summer 2011 at six different monitoring points in pedestrian areas of downtown Glasgow. For data collection, a Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station equipped with temperature and humidity sensors, cup anemometer with wind vane, silicon pyranometer and globe thermometer was employed. Predictions of the outdoor thermal index PET (physiologically equivalent temperature) correlated closely to the actual thermal votes of respondents. Using concurrent measurements from a second Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station placed in a rural setting approximately 15 km from the urban area, comparisons were drawn with regard to daytime thermal comfort levels and urban–rural temperature differences (∆Tu-r) for the various sites. The urban sites exhibited a consistent lower level of thermal discomfort during daytime. No discernible effect of urban form attributes in terms of the sky-view factor were observed on ∆Tu-r or on the relative difference of the adjusted predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD*).

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. For determination of the SVF, fisheye images at each monitoring point were generated using a fisheye lens FC-E8 coupled to a Nikon CoolPix 4500 digital camera. From the fisheye images, SVF was calculated using Rayman, a public ___domain software developed by Andreas Matzarakis (http://www.mif.uni-freiburg.de/RayMan/).

  2. Table A.1, Annex A, ISO 9920 (ISO 2007).

  3. Accounting for a population of approximately 600,000 inhabitants (Glasgow), with a margin of error of 5 %, confidence level 95 % and response distribution of 33 % (comfort, discomfort due to cold or discomfort due to heat), a minimum of 340 respondents would be required.

  4. According to ISO 8996 (ISO 1990), an average man is 30 years old, weighs 70 kg and is 1.75 m tall; the average woman is 30 years old, weighs 60 kg and is 1.70 m tall.

  5. Table 2 of ISO 7730 shows three possible thresholds for the definition of the acceptable percentage of persons in thermal discomfort: TS = 0; −1 ≤ TS ≤ +1; −2 ≤ TS ≤ +2, the choice lying with the second threshold. Thus, comfortable conditions correspond to a maximum of 10 % dissatisfied.

  6. According to ISO 8996 (ISO 1990), an average man is 30 years old, weighs 70 kg and is 1.75 tall.

References

  • Ali-Toudert F, Mayer H (2006) Numerical study on the effects of aspect ratio and orientation of an urban street canyon on outdoor thermal comfort in hot and dry climate. Build Environ 41:94–108

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ANSI/ASHRAE (2004) Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy (ANSI Approved). American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. Standard 55

  • Chrisomallidou N, Chrisomallidis M, Theodosiou T (2004) Design principles and applications. In: Nikolopoulou M (ed) Designing open spaces in the urban environment: a bioclimatic approach. CRES, Greece

    Google Scholar 

  • de Dear RJ, Fountain ME (1994) Field experiments on occupant comfort and office thermal environments in a hot-humid climate. ASHRAE Transactions 100:457–474

    Google Scholar 

  • Eliasson I, Knez I, Westerberg U, Thorsson S, Lindberg F (2007) Climate and behaviour in a Nordic city. Landscape Urban Plan 82:72–84

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emmanuel R (2005) An urban approach to climate-sensitive design. Spon, London/New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Emmanuel R, Krüger E (2012) Urban Heat Island and its impact on climate change resilience in a shrinking city: the case of Glasgow, UK. Build Environ 53:137–149. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.01.020

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erell E, Pearlmutter D, Williamson T (2011) Designing the spaces between buildings. Earthscan, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Givoni B (1998) Climate considerations in building and urban design. Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Hassid S, Santamouris M, Papanikolaou N, Linardi A, Georgakis C, Assimakopoulos DN (2000) The effect of the Athens heat island on air conditioning load. Energ Buildings 32:131–141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Höppe P (1999) The physiological equivalent temperature—a universal index for the biometeorological assessment of the thermal environment. Int J Biometeorol 43(2):71–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Höppe P (2002) Different aspects of assessing indoor and outdoor thermal comfort. Energ Buildings 34:661–665

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ISO (1995) ISO 10551. Ergonomics of the thermal environment—assessment of the influence of the thermal environment using subjective judgement scales. ISO, Geneva

  • ISO (1998) ISO 7726. Ergonomics of the thermal environment—instruments for measuring physical quantities. ISO, Geneva

  • ISO (1994) ISO 7730. Moderate thermal environments — determination of the PMV and PPD indices and specification of the conditions for thermal comfort. ISO, Geneva

  • ISO (2007) ISO 9920. Ergonomics of the thermal environment – estimation of the thermal insulation and evaporative resistance of a clothing ensemble. ISO, Geneva

  • ISO (1990) ISO 8996. Metabolic heat production. 2.2 Ergonomics—determination of metabolic heat production. ISO, Geneva.

  • Johansson E (2006) Urban design and outdoor thermal comfort in warm climates. PhD Thesis, Lund University.

  • Johansson E, Emmanuel R (2006) The influence of urban design on outdoor thermal comfort in the hot, humid city of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Int J Biometeorol 51:119–133. doi:10.1007/s00484-006-0047-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katzschner L (2005) The contribution of urban climate studies to a new urbanity. Proceedings of the 8th Encontro Nacional de Conforto no Ambiente Construído. Maceió: ANTAC.

  • Knez I, Thorsson S (2006) Influence of culture and environmental attitude on thermal, emotional and perceptual evaluations of a public square. Int J Biometeorol 50:258–268. doi:10.1007/s00484-006-0024-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolokotroni M, Zhang Y, Watkins R (2007) The London Heat Island and building cooling design. Solar Energy 81(1):102–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krüger E, Minella FO, Rasia F (2011) Impact of urban geometry on outdoor thermal comfort and air quality from field measurements in Curitiba, Brazil. Build Environ 46(3):621–634

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krüger E, Bröde P, Emmanuel R, Fiala D (2012) In: Windsor Conference 2012 (ed) The changing context of comfort in an unpredictable world. Conference program. NCEUB, London, UK, Predicting outdoor thermal sensation from two field studies in Curitiba, Brazil and Glasgow, UK using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI)

    Google Scholar 

  • Matzarakis A, Mayer H, Iziomon MG (1999) Applications of a universal thermal index: physiological equivalent temperature. Int J Biometeorol 43:76–84

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • UK Met Office (2012) Monthly and annual average climate data at 5 km resolution. http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/stationdata/. Accessed 10 June 2012

  • Ng E (2009) Policies and technical guidelines for urban planning of high-density cities—air ventilation assessment (AVA) of Hong Kong. Build Environ 44:1478–1488

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicol F, Humphreys M, Roaf S (2012) Adaptive thermal comfort—principles and practice. Routledge, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Nikolopoulou M, Steemers K (2003) Thermal comfort and psychological adaptation as a guide for designing urban spaces. Energ Buildings 3:227–235. doi:10.1016/S0378-7788(02)00084-1

    Google Scholar 

  • Nikolopoulou M, Baker N, Steemers K (1999) Improvements to the globe thermometer for outdoor use. Archit Science Review 42(1):27–34. doi:10.1080/00038628.1999.9696845

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nikolopoulou M, Baker N, Steemers K (2001) Thermal comfort in outdoor urban spaces: understanding the human parameter. Sol Energy. doi:10.1016/S0038-092X(00)00093-1

  • Panogopoulos T (2008) Using microclimatic landscape design to create thermal comfort and energy efficiency, In: Proceedings of the 1st Conferência sobre Edifícios Eficientes. Algarve, Portugal

    Google Scholar 

  • Picot X (2004) Thermal comfort in urban spaces: impact of vegetation growth. Case study: Piazza della Scienza, Milan, Italy. Energ Buildings 36:329–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shashua-Bar L, Hoffman ME (2000) Vegetation as a climatic component in the design of an urban street An empirical model for predicting the cooling effect of urban green areas with trees. Energ Buildings 31:221–235

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souza LCL (2007) Thermal environment as a parameter for urban planning. Energy Sustainable Development XI 4:44–53

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spagnolo J, de Dear R (2003) A field study of thermal comfort in outdoor and semi-outdoor environments in subtropical Sydney Australia. Build Env 38:721–738. doi:10.1016/S0360-1323(02)00209-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stewart ID, Oke TR (2009) A new classification system for urban climate sites. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 90:922–923

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson MK (2004) Sky view factor analysis—implications for urban air temperature differences. Meteorol Appl 11:201–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson MK, Thorsson S, Lindqvist S (2003) A geographical information system model for creating bioclimatic maps—examples from a high, mid-latitude city. Int J Biometeorol 47:102–112

    Google Scholar 

  • Thorsson S, Lindqvist M, Lindqvist S (2004) Thermal bioclimatic conditions and patterns of behaviour in an urban park in Göteborg, Sweden. Int J Biometeorol 48:149–156. doi:10.1007/s00484-003-0189-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorsson S, Lindberg F, Eliasson I, Holmer B (2007) Different methods for estimating the mean radiant temperature in an outdoor urban setting. Int J Climatol 27:1983–1993

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorsson S, Lindberg F, Bjorklund J, Holmer B, Rayner D (2010) Potential changes in outdoor thermal comfort conditions in Gothenburg, Sweden due to climate change: the influence of urban geometry. Int J Climatol 31:324–335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Unger J (2004) Intra-urban relationship between surface geometry and urban heat island: review and new approach. Clim Res 27:253–264

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upmanis H, Chen D (1999) Influence of geographical factors and meteorological variables on nocturnal urban–park temperature differences—a case study of summer 1995 in Göteborg, Sweden. Clim Res 13:125–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vanos J, Warland J, Gillespie T, Kenny N (2010) Review of the physiology of human thermal comfort while exercising in urban landscapes and implications for bioclimatic design. Int J Biometeorol 54:319–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • VDI (1998) Methods for the human-biometerological assessment of climate and air hygiene for urban and regional planning. Part I: Climate, VDI guideline 3787. Part 2. Association of German Engineers, Beuthen, Berlin

  • Voogt J, Krayenhoff ES, Lee I (2011) Urban surface temperatures and urban form. The 18th International Seminar on Urban Form, ISUF 2011, Montreal

Download references

Acknowledgements

The financial help provided by the Brazilian funding agencies CNPq and CAPES and instrumentation and analysis facilities provided by the School of Engineering and Built Environment at the Glasgow Caledonian University are gratefully acknowledged.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Construcao Civil, Universidade Tecnologica Federal do Parana, Rua Deputado Heitor Alencar Furtado, 4900, 81280-340 Curitiba, PR, Brazil

    Eduardo Krüger

  2. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Patricia Drach & Oscar Corbella

  3. School of Engineering and Built Environment, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

    Rohinton Emmanuel

Authors
  1. Eduardo Krüger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patricia Drach
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Rohinton Emmanuel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Oscar Corbella
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eduardo Krüger.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Krüger, E., Drach, P., Emmanuel, R. et al. Assessment of daytime outdoor comfort levels in and outside the urban area of Glasgow, UK. Int J Biometeorol 57, 521–533 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-012-0578-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-012-0578-y

Keywords