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Effects of ceiling fans on the thermal comfort of students in learning environments of Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria

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conference contribution
posted on 2024-04-04, 15:24 authored by Sani Muhammad Ali, Brett Martinson, Sura Al-MaiyahSura Al-Maiyah, Mark Gaterell

It is well known that thermal comfort is influenced by major physical parameters; air and radiant temperatures, humidity, and air speed in combination with personal attributes; clothing insulation and activity level. Although temperature is conventionally considered in adaptive thermal comfort model, as the most important physical parameter where cooling is involved, moderate air speed can enhance thermal comfort during higher temperatures. Through convective and evaporative cooling, ceiling fans cool people by causing sweat from the occupant’s body to evaporate. The northern part of Nigeria, being in the tropics, is known for higher temperature regimes for most part of the year. The use of air conditioning to achieve thermal comfort is not sustainable, for economic reasons and the lack of stable electrical energy. Therefore, a majority of naturally ventilated spaces could be kept thermally comfortable with the control of ceiling fans and operable windows.

As part of a research work on learning environments in a Northern Nigerian university, this study reports on the effects of ceiling fans on the thermal comfort perception of the students in two lecture theatres. Air speed, air and radiant temperatures, relative humidity were measured, concurrently comfort surveys were undertaken in the spaces, from which activity levels and clothing insulations were obtained. Adaptive thermal comfort standards, ASHRAE 55 and EN 15251, state that thermal comfort can be maintained as air temperature rises with the use of ceiling fans operating at moderate speed. The results show that reductions of 31% and 22% in overheating from the two lecture theatres were realised, as a result of ceiling fans usage, measured by the degree hour’s exceedance indicator. These results were further corroborated by the students’ acceptance of thermal conditions of the lecture theatres at temperatures above Tmax.

History

School

  • Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering

Published in

Proceedings of the 10th Windsor Conference: Rethinking Comfort

Pages

194 - 208

Source

18th Windsor Conference

Publisher

Network for Comfort and Energy Use in Buildings (NCEUB)

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Rights holder

© The Authors

Publication date

2018-04-30

Copyright date

2018

ISBN

9780992895785

Language

  • en

Editor(s)

Luisa Brotas, Susan Roaf, Fergus Nicol, Michael Humphreys

Location

Windsor, United Kingdom

Event dates

12th April 2018 - 15th April 2018

Depositor

Dr Sura Al-Maiyah. Deposit date: 1 April 2024

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