ASSESSMENT OF THERMAL SENSATION OF RESIDENTS IN THE SOUTHERN GREAT PLAIN, HUNGARY
KOVÁCS A. , KÁNTOR NOÉMI, ÉGERHÁZI LILLA ANDREA
ABSTRACT. Assessment of thermal sensation of residents in the Southern Great Plain, Hungary. This study examines the subjective thermal sensation characteristics of people living in Szeged, in the Southern Hungarian Great Plain. Micrometeorological measurements were conducted with two mobile stations in six urban public spaces during 70 days from spring to autumn in 2011 and 2012. Simultaneously, 6080 visitors were asked to assess their actual subjective thermal sensation. The collected climatic variables (air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, and mean radiant temperature) were assigned to the respondents individually, taking the actual spatial position of the subjects and the meteorological stations, as well as the degree of their solar exposure into account. From the linked basic parameters the Physiologically Equivalent Temperature (PET) index was calculated to quantify the overall thermal conditions. This study presents the characteristics of the visitors’ Thermal Sensation Votes (TSV) as well as their relationships with the measured or calculated objective variables. The results confirmed that PET has the strongest influence on the thermal sensation. Based on the TSV−PET regression function, the widely used European PET thermal sensation classes were rescaled in order to express more closely the thermal perception characteristics of the people living under the climatic conditions of the Southern Hungarian Great Plain. The results indicate significant shifts in the PET class boundaries, emphasizing the role of thermal adaptation of people living in distinct climates.
Keywords: subjective thermal sensation, field survey, physiologically equivalent temperature, thermal comfort classes