International Journal of

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Preparing thermal comfort conditions in outdoor public spaces is one of the considerations of architectural design. If the constructed area does not support comfortable conditions in outdoor spaces, it will cause microclimatic problems for pedestrians and adjacent buildings. Regarding the different thermal comfort conditions in outdoor spaces in comparison with indoor, several indices have been produced for outdoor thermal analysis during recent decades. The different methodology and approach to these indices have provided a diverse set of responses to thermal prediction of outdoor spaces. This diversity has made it difficult for architects to decide how to use these indices in outdoor design strategies. To provide a same basis to compare these results, this article will introduce each index with its definition, its basic calculation method, and its thermal condition categories. Following these information a psychometric chart that is provided by the author, shows its thermal categories as a graphic method. Using this psychometrics for thermal analysis will make it easy to compare different indices and their outdoor thermal predictions. Those architects, who are familiar with Building Bioclimatic Chart of Givoni for analyzing indoor thermal conditions, will find this method easy and practical for analyzing outdoor thermal condition by choosing an appropriate index.

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Using outdoor public spaces as a place of social interaction is in a great consideration these days. Providing tolerable thermal condition as long as possible is one of the primary stage for people’s presence in these places. Outdoor thermal indices are introduced to help architects making appropriate decisions in climate responsive design procedure. By doing some field study research in extreme climatic condition of tropical city of Kuala Lumpur, this article will introduce a research method of data collecting and data analyzing using outdoor thermal indices. How to do an effective and helpful research for design requirements is the aim of this method. Field data are collected by a Kestrel portable weather station in different outdoor spaces of the city centre. Weather data are analyzed in three levels of meso, local and microclimate. Architectural properties of the place are explained as the respective climatic design solution. Software named SIKRON is designed to speed up the analyzing process.

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This paper deals with evaluating the thermal behavior of exterior walls in dwellings of a particular place. Today, there is a huge increase in constructing multi-storey apartment buildings and single-family houses in the city of Yazd, a city with hot dry climate and a rich historical architecture in Iran. Unfortunately, the new methods that are used nowadays to make the envelopes of these dwellings are not suitable for the climate of the city, so they are not sustainable. The aim of this study is to evaluate the thermal properties of all types of applicable walls and recommend suitable exterior walls that are constructed of common materials in the region to improve comfort and energy conservation. The procedure of the research includes two parts: at first the climatic characteristics of Yazd is Studied. At the second part, to define the most suitable wall, effective thermal properties of the walls are calculated in none steady-state conditions. These properties are calculated for the walls with different types and thicknesses of common material layers in various positions. At last, a comprehensive compare between thermal properties of the different walls is done and sustainable envelopes ─exterior walls that are suitable for both cold and hot seasons in Yazd─ are defined. In the result section, the types, thicknesses, and positions of the layers of the recommended walls in four directions of acceptable building orientation (that is +15 degree towards east-south) are defined, and the needed amount of mass and insulation as well as their relative positions is discussed. Furthermore, sun porch as a suitable passive heating system for cold seasons is suggested in some directions.

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Because of the differences between indoor and outdoor thermal condition, preparing some outdoor thermal indices is a way to understand and categorize the outdoor thermal sensation. The aim of these indices is not to provide thermal comfort - as it is the aim of indoor indices. Instead, they are provided to analyze outdoor thermal sensation to help architects, landscape architects and urban designers in design procedure to provide the most possible tolerable thermal condition in outdoor places such as urban public spaces. This article is the result of some field studies have been done in 2010 - 2012 in five different climates: hot semi humid (Ahvaz, Iran), tropical (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), hot-arid (Kashan, Iran), moderate-arid (Tehran, Iran) and cold (Sheffield, UK) in their worst thermal period. The main question in this research is: which outdoor thermal index is appropriate for a specific climate? And how much it is accurate to evaluate outdoor thermal sensation especially in different levels of cold stress and heat stress condition? In each field study the weather data including temperature, humidity and wind speed, are collected by two portable Kestrel weather stations to show weather condition in local and microclimate levels. People's behavior in outdoor spaces is observed to understand their reaction to the different thermal conditions. A nominal observation scale is used for people’s age, health, clothes, activity and exposure time. Outdoor thermal indices that are used in this research are: Humidex, WBGT (wet bulb globe temperature), TSI (tropical summer index), Summer Outdoor Comfort Zone, WCET (wind chill equivalent temperature), THI (temperature humidity index) and UTCI (universal thermal climate index). The results show that outdoor thermal indices may have not the same explanation for the same thermal condition. Some of them are more appropriate for some specific condition while others are not. At last it would be summarized that they have acceptable sensitivity to temperature but most of them need to become more sensitive to humidity and air velocity.