Influence of air humidity on the thermal comfort of users of office buildings in Florianópolis/SC

Abstract Thermal comfort is highly important not only for energy conservation in buildings, but also for users’ satisfaction and performance. The main objective of this project is to assess the effect of air humidity on the thermal comfort of users of office buildings located in a humid subtropical climate, in Florianópolis/SC, southern Brazil. Based on field data previously collected, statistical analyses were performed considering the air humidity and users’ subjective responses obtained by means of an electronic questionnaire. The thermal perception and the air humidity perception of occupants of a building with central air-conditioning system and two mixed-mode buildings, in which there was alternation between the natural ventilation mode and the air-conditioning mode, were analysed. The results obtained indicate no relation between humidity ratio and thermal perception, however, a significant influence of humidity sensation and humidity preference on thermal comfort was observed. In addition, the study confirmed, as other authors had already pointed out, the importance of the use of absolute humidity instead of relative humidity in thermal comfort analyses.