Evaluación de modelos de confort térmico adaptativo en ambientes interiores en Guayaquil, Ecuador

Abstract

CONDITION FOR PUBLICATION OF PROJECT. This research focuses on the evaluation of adaptive thermal comfort models applied to buildings located in Guayaquil, Ecuador, with the objective of analyzing the relationship between indoor environmental conditions and users’ thermal perception. The hypothesis states that international models do not adequately represent comfort in warm-humid climates, which justifies the need to adapt the criteria to local conditions. A monitoring prototype called CERA Station was designed and calibrated to record air temperature, relative humidity, globe temperature, and air velocity, following the ISO 7726 standard. Experimental measurements were carried out in university classrooms, and thermal simulations were conducted in EnergyPlus to compare the ASHRAE 55 (2017), EN 15251, and Vellei (2017) models. The results showed that, although indoor conditions met the comfort standards, 64% of users reported sensations of overcooling. In simulation, the ASHRAE 55 model identified 31% of hours outside the comfort range, EN 15251 identified 22%, and Vellei only 11%, due to its inclusion of humidity as a key variable. It is concluded that the integration of relative humidity improves predictive accuracy, and that thermal design criteria should be adjusted to ensure more adaptive and comfortable indoor environments. Keywords: overcooling, relative humidity, thermal simulation, natural ventilation.