Window Size and Opening Impact on Thermal Comfort Performance of Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) Lockup in Malaysia

Issues related to the ineffective design of lockup windows in Malaysia, which contribute to detainees' discomfort, have been frequently highlighted by SUHAKAM.The absence of standardized design guidelines for lockup windows has been identified as a key contributing factor to this problem.This study aims to evaluate the impact of varying window sizes and the percentage of window openings on the thermal comfort performance of lockups through multiple design configurations.A building performance simulation program, Integrated Environmental Solution-Virtual Environment (IES-VE), was utilized to simulate the thermal conditions of a case study lockup over one year.The objective was to determine an optimal window design that enhances thermal comfort performance based on recommendations from prior research, design standards, and Malaysian guidelines.The findings indicate that the 20-A window design, with a 20% opening size, is the most effective configuration, improving operative temperature by 0.8% compared to the existing 4% window opening.In small thermally confined naturally ventilated lockup spaces without mechanical cooling, even 0.1C to 0.2C can affect human thermal sensation and perceived acceptability in hot-humid climates.These results provide valuable insights for enhancing the current lockup window design to improve thermal comfort performance and mitigate detainee discomfort.