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Abstract Thermal perception entails to a certain extent visual aspects, which are taken into account when subjects are requested to express their thermal votes to a given indoor or outdoor space. This study concentrates on human cognition and preconceptions of thermal behavior from projected 360° imagery. Urban scenes have been shown with the concurrent administration of thermal perception questionnaires to two distinct sample groups: 1) volunteer participants (n = 86) who filled out online responses to questions regarding thermal perception in undisclosed locations; 2) undergraduate students (n = 85) under temperature-controlled conditions in a computer lab. Both groups have evaluated three different 360° urban scenes with varying morphology attributes using the provided web link to the 360° VR platform Roundme. Method of analysis included means, medians, statistical significance (p-value) and percentage graphs of perceived thermal sensation. Despite the absence of any information regarding location, season and time of day of the scenes, both groups expressed different perceptions with respect to the estimated thermal conditions and thermal comfort levels for the observed urban scenes, consistently attributing windier and warmer thermal conditions to an urban square location and less so to a street canyon. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • A similar trend in thermal perception was obtained for databases with remarkable differences. • Different protocols and samples suggest there is a context-related effect on thermal perception. • The outlook of a given outdoor space affects the way we perceive it thermally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interactions between human beings and the built environment are mediated by physiological and psychological stimuli, which may interfere in the perception and satisfaction related to indoor comfort variables. The study aims to explore the relationship between daylighting features and possible impacts on humans in regards to lighting preferences. The influence of different daylighting configurations, glazed façade orientation and season of the year on lighting preferences in human beings was evaluated by means of tests in a rotating climate with monitoring of environmental variables, developed by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany. The sample, n = 16, is composed of German male students (height SD = 1.80 m, SD = 0.06; body weight SD = 80 kg, SD = 8.9; and age SD = 24.9 years, SD = 3.6). Under controlled thermal conditions (PMV approx. ±0.5), participants remained in two office-like environments over 5 h (8:00 am to 1:00 pm - local time) three days in a row, for three seasons of the year, totaling nine days of data collection per participant. Definitions of glazed façade orientations for the experimental rounds were done by means of computer simulations. Objective variables were measured by spectroradiometers at desk height, with sensor h = ca. 0.90 m, and comfortmeters. Preferences of daylighting features was assessed by a questionnaire with Likert-scale alternatives, administered online at 8:50 am, 10:30 am and 12:30 pm. Objective and subjective data were analyzed statistically (Spearman's rho, rs), suggesting possible correlations between lighting preferences and objective variables, including: E (lx), CCT (K), DWl (nm) and the circadian metric a cv (circadian action factor). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the joint effect of atmospheric conditions and urban morphology, expressed as the Sky View Factor (SVF), on intra-urban variability. The study has been carried out in Glasgow, UK, a shrinking city with a maritime temperate climate type, and findings could guide future climate adaptation plans in terms of morphology and services provided by the municipality to overcome thermal discomfort in outdoor settings. In this case, SVF has been used as an indicator of urban morphology. The modified Pasquill-Gifford-Turner (PGT) classification system was adopted for classifying the temperature monitoring periods according to atmospheric stability conditions. Thirty two locations were selected on the basis of SVF with a wide variety of urban shapes (narrow streets, neighbourhood green spaces, urban parks, street canyons and public squares) and compared to a reference weather station during a total of twenty three transects during late spring and summer in 2013. Maximum daytime intra-urban temperature differences were found to be strongly correlated with atmospheric stability classes. Furthermore, differences in air temperature are noticeable in urban canyons, with a direct correlation to the site's SVF (or sky openness) and with an inverse trend under open-air conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Novel Radiant-Capacitive Heating and Cooling System. • For summer months, outdoor mean temperature drop was 1.2 K, for the daily maxima 5.2 K. • Mean cooling potential of 220 Wh/m2day. • Net cooling power of the radiator ​​between 32 W/m2 and 53 W/m2. The aim of this study is to assess the thermal performance of a low-energy Radiant-Capacitive Heating and Cooling System composed of a radiant-capacitive heating and cooling module, a sky radiator/solar collector and a thermal energy storage (water tank), operating mainly with natural energy sources. The system combines different passive strategies, namely: nocturnal radiative cooling for summer or warm periods of the year, solar heating when required, increase of thermal mass indoors with thermal activation of an indoor hydronic radiator. Experimental results are shown for the system in its cooling mode, carried out with small test cells in Curitiba, Brazil. For summer months, the system was capable of reducing the outdoor mean by on average 1.2 K with a peak temperature drop of 4 K. Corresponding offsets for the daily maxima were 5.2 K and 8.9 K, respectively. Mean cooling potential of the system, obtained in a side-by-side temperature comparison between an experimental cell with the implemented system and a control cell, resulted in daily values of up to 220 Wh/m2day. The net cooling power of the radiator during pumping hours at nighttime showed average values between 32 W/m2 and 53 W/m2, with maximum values reaching 84.5 W/m2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]