Thermal Comfort and Energy-Use in Urban Transitional Spaces- Bus stop in Slovenia

Abstract: Transportation plays an essential role in the European economy. The European Transport Policy aims to establish a sustainable means of transportation system to provide the social, economic and environmental needs of society contributing to an integrated society. Major reasons for people to choose private cars over public transport are infrequent connections, inadequate infrastructure and low thermal comfort while waiting for their transport. This thesis is a research on the adaptive approach to thermal comfort in bus stops in Slovenia. It provides an innovative opportunity to assess thermal comfort by using the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) method. The UTCI was compared with the operating/room temperature inside the bus stop to assess the total number of comfortable hours during an entire year. The role of climate on the architectural design was investigated. Subsequently, passive design measures such as triple glazing, insulated walls and green roof were included in the bus stop design to achieve maximum thermal comfort. A conventional and a climate-based bus stop design were tested and the thermal comfort and energy-use in both these bus stops were analysed. An iterative parametric study analysis resulted in the climate-based bus stop performing better than the conventional bus stop. Addition of an active measure comprising of an electrical floor heating powered by solar photovoltaic cells was also investigated. It was found that active floor heating could increase thermal comfort substantially, but it was necessary to investigate the feasibility and costs to determine if an active measure would be profitable in reality. In the end, it was deduced that whether or not, an active measure was included in the design, it was nevertheless, important to incorporate passive design measures to be able to achieve a holistic, sustainable design.