Thermal comfort in Libya - field study

Abstract

As part of the thermal comfort investigation in Libya a thermal comfort field survey was carried to set local thermal comfort temperature. This paper will present a field study results of thermal comfort in Libya. A thermal comfort survey has been held out in 39 domestic building across the three cities from three climatic zones, The criteria of selection only limited in free running domestic houses (naturally ventilated houses). Nearly 160 persons were included in this survey, they have been interviewed in their houses under their normal living conditions during the hottest (Summer), the coldest (Winter) and the moderate (Spring) periods of the year. The study investigates and assigns the thermal comfort temperature in three climatic zones in Libya, and three equations were concluded from the study, using the running mean outdoor temperature as predictor of the thermal comfort, that can indicate the limits of the comfort zones for the three cities. The paper also presents the researcher study on thermal insulation values for traditional Libyan clothing. The most common ensemble clothing for women and men were tested using thermal manikin.