Thermal Comfort in Hot-Humid Climates

Dear Colleagues,

Thermal comfort is an important issue nowadays since the influence of climate change on humans’ well-being has become more apparent due to extreme weather conditions in recent years. To date, several studies have explored and established the evaluation criteria or prediction models for thermal comfort assessment, while there is still a lack of comprehensive discussion for specific climate zones.  In particular, the features of the hot-humid climate are distinctive and unique. It is worth developing a specific prediction model, evaluation system, or benchmark for this specific area. Moreover, related discussions of schemes, strategies, and regulations for improving thermal comfort conditions are essential.

Apart from the emphasis on thermal comfort, energy conservation is also a significant issue. For mitigating the impact of the changing climate and pursuing the net zero emissions, the scope of this Special Issue also welcomes articles that simultaneously deal with thermal comfort conditions and the energy use of buildings. Additionally, our society is stricken by the severe COVID-19 pandemic that has changed numerous human activities or behaviors. The crisis of public health led to the phenomenon that instead of indoor activities, people prefer outdoor activities. Thus, outdoor thermal comfort becomes one of the main issues because the utilization frequency of the space is directly related to the thermal comfort condition. Ultimately, this Special Issue is specific to hot-humid climates and aims to demonstrate the relationships among thermal comfort (indoor or outdoor) and human productivity, human behaviors, energy use, architectural design, building performance, etc. In addition, it is also an appropriate venue for papers that distinguish the difference between different climate zones to show the influence derived from geographical location and weather conditions.

Original results including, but not limited to, innovative models, evaluation criteria, field experiments, subjective surveys, and review papers related to thermal comfort issues in hot-humid climates are all welcome contributions.

Dr. Ruey-Lung Hwang
Dr. Kuo-Tsang Huang
Dr. Wei-An Chen
Guest Editors

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• indoor thermal comfort
• urban thermal comfort
• energy conservation
• hot-humid climates
• architecture design
• building envelope performance
• prediction model
• evaluation criteria