Adaptive Thermal Comfort and Skin Moisture Sensation of Occupants During Summer in Naturally Ventilated Urban Dwellings with the Potential to Lower Cooling Energy Demand

Adaptive thermal comfort is essential for understanding occupants’ responses to indoor thermal environments in residential buildings. However, field studies on adaptive thermal comfort in urban dwellings in Nepal remain limited, and the influence of skin moisture sensation on thermal comfort has not been investigated. This study examines adaptive thermal comfort and skin moisture sensation in naturally ventilated urban dwellings during summer. Field data were collected from 1011 occupants in Bhaktapur district, Nepal, while indoor and outdoor thermal conditions were monitored simultaneously. The results show that occupants experienced the highest thermal comfort at an average comfort temperature of 26.0 °C. More than 95% of the observed comfort temperatures were within the acceptable ranges specified by ISO and ASHRAE adaptive comfort standards. In addition, the comfort temperature decreased by approximately 1.1 K as skin moisture sensation increased from none to slightly, indicating that sweating influences thermal comfort perception. These findings demonstrate that naturally ventilated urban dwellings in Nepal can provide acceptable thermal comfort under international standards and highlight the importance of incorporating skin moisture sensation into adaptive thermal comfort assessments. The results also suggest the potential implication of the thermal comfort findings to reduce residential cooling energy demand by promoting natural ventilation and occupants’ adaptive behaviors.