Field study on indoor thermal environment and thermal comfort in large shopping malls in Xi’an in winter

In this study, a combination of field tests and questionnaires are used to obtain the thermal environment parameters and personnel thermal comfort in eight large shopping malls in Xi’an in winter. The results show that the shopping malls are warmer and the wind speed is low. The neutral temperature of the shopping malls in winter is 17.4 ℃. The 80% thermally acceptable temperature range in winter is 16.4 to 23.2 ℃. The subjective evaluations of subjects in the shopping malls are related to the factors such as gender, whether they are waiters, and their floor. The upper limit of acceptable temperature is higher for women than that for men. The thermal sensation of the waiters is lower than that of the customers because of the lower thermal resistance of waiter clothing and the restricted range of motion. The higher the floor, the higher the temperature,and the lower the thermal acceptability.