UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
ALINA BINTI AMINUDDIN
FK 2013 101
THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS AT UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA HEALTH CENTRE
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THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS AT UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
HEALTH CENTRE
By
ALINA BINTI AMINUDDIN
Thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia,
in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science
January 2013
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In dedication to:
My dear, loving and supporting mother, Norhani Abdullah
My beloved father, Aminuddin Hussin
My precious husband, Muhammad Syueib
For all their encouragement, patience and support
With Love and gratitude
My beloved grandmother, Tiajum
Peace to her departed spirit
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Abstract of thesis presented to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia in fulfillment of the
requirement for the degree of Master of Science
THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS AT UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
HEALTH CENTRE
By
ALINA BT AMINUDDIN
January 2013
Chairman : Associate Professor Ir. Nor Mariah Adam, PhD
Faculty : Engineering
Thermal comfort analysis in any waiting areas is crucial to assess the conditions that will
influence the occupants state of well being. The hot and humid environments of Malaysia
can easily affect the waiting room conditions if steps are not taken to create a comfortable
atmosphere. The occupants can feel aggravated and stressful while waiting for their turn to
see the medical officer if the conditions at the waiting rooms are not comfortable.
The main objective of this research was to determine the thermal comfort of occupants in
various waiting areas at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Health Centre seeking medical
attention and to evaluate the possibility of using the Infrared Thermography for fast
screening of body temperature from a distance. At the same time, a survey was performed
involving the said occupants on their perception of thermal comfort.
Thermal comfort field measurements study was conducted in the Health Centre of UPM.
Relative humidity, mean radiant temperature, air temperature, air velocity, clothing
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insulation, metabolic rate, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of
Dissatisfied (PPD) were calculated.
The subjective survey involved questions on thermal sensation. The result yielded from
subjective and objective approach was used to formulate the conclusion on thermal comfort
at the Health Centre. For thermal comfort evaluation, a questionnaire according to ASHRAE
Standard 55 was given to all occupants who participated in the temperature screening by the
Infrared Thermography. Fanger’s Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of
Dissatisfied (PPD) were calculated using measurement obtained from Heat Stress Monitor.
At any given condition of a waiting room, thermal comfort may also influence body
temperature of occupants. The Infrared Thermography is a potential solution to diagnose the
human body temperature from a distance. The ability of this technique to differentiate
different body temperatures is of practical importance in cases which require rapid
screening to segregate infected occupants during mass pandemic such as HIN1 infection
that occur at UPM in 2009. The study involved screening of 313 occupants at the Health
Centre. Each occupant’s body temperature was determined by recording the temperature
profile of the face using the Infrared Thermography device Fluke Thermal Imager. The
subject was seated at a distance of about 1.0 meter away from the device. The temperature
profile was analyzed using the SmatView 2.0 to determine the body temperature.
The air temperature at the Health Centre measured by the Thermal Stress Monitor was
between 19°C to 21°C, lower than the value given by the ANSI/ASHRAE Standard (2004)
and ISO 7730 (2005) of 24°C set to be the lower limit for thermal comfort. It was observed
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that 63% of occupants involved in the study were comfortable with the surrounding air
temperature. PMV showed the most acceptable value was at -1.1 and PPD showed the most
acceptable value at 30.5.
The results showed that a difference of about 1.1% and 5.1% was observed between the
Infrared Thermography reading and the values obtained by using the Digital Clinical
Thermometer and laboratory thermometer, respectively. The results were verified by a
senior medical officer at the UPM Health Centre. Out of 313 occupants tested by Infrared
Thermography, 38.9 % showed body temperature of 37-38ºC, 34.8% showed 38-39ºC,
14.1% showed 36-37ºC, 8.3% showed 39-40ºC and lastly, 3.5% showed 35-36ºC.
The Infrared Thermography device could be used effectively for fast screening body
temperature without any personal contact with the patient, as the recordings could be done 1-
2 meters away. This method could reduce 50% of screening time compared to the normal
clinical method. The results from PMV and PPD study comply with the findings on the
thermal sensation of occupants in the waiting area.
The study also shown that not only Infrared Thermography was applicable to measure the
surface body temperature of material, but it also can be used to measure the human body
temperature.
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Abstrak tesis yang dikemukakan kepada Senat Universiti Putra Malaysia sebagai memenuhi
keperluan untuk ijazah Master Sains
ANALISIS SUHU KESELESAAN PENGUNJUNG DI PUSAT KESIHATAN
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
Oleh
ALINA BINTI AMINUDDIN
Januari 2013
Pengerusi : Profesor Madya Ir. Nor Mariah Adam, PhD
Fakulti : Kejuruteraan
Analisis keselesaan di ruang tempat menunggu adalah sangat penting kerana keadaan yang
selesa mempengaruhi pengunjung . Suhu persekitaran yang panas dan lembab di Malaysia
amat mudah memberi kesan di ruang menunggu jika langkah tidak diambil untuk
membentuk persekitaran yang selesa. Pengunjung akan mudah merasa tidak selesa dengan
suhu persekitaran yang tidak sesuai dan dalam keadaan yang tertekan semasa menunggu
giliran mereka untuk berjumpa dengan pengawai kesihatan .
Objektif utama kajian ini adalah untuk menentukan suhu keselesaan pengunjung di pelbagai
ruang tempat menunggu di Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) dan menilai kemungkinan
penggunaan Termografi Inframerah untuk saringan cepat suhu badan dari jauh. Pada masa
yang sama, tinjauan diadakan melibatkan pengunjung tertentu untuk menilai persepsi
mereka terhadap suhu.
Fail kajian eksperimen bagi mengukur keselesaan terma telah dijalankan di Pusat Kesihatan
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UPM . Kelembapan relatif, min suhu sinaran, suhu udara, halaju udara, penyalutan pakaian,
kadar tenaga, Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) dan Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD)
juga dikira.
Kajian subjectif juga melibatkan soalan dari derian termal . Keputusan melibatkan kajian
secara subjectif dan objektif yang digunakan untuk membentuk kesimpulan suhu keselesaan
di Pusat Kesihatan. Untuk menilai keselesaan termal, soal selidik mengikut ASHRAE
Piawaian 55, telah diberikan kepada semua pengunjung yang mengambil bahagian dalam
saringan suhu menggunakan Termografi Inframerah. Fanger’s Predicted Mean Vote (PMV)
dan Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) dihitung menggunakan pengukuran
diperolehi dari Monitor Tekanan Haba.
Dalam apa juga keadaan di ruang menunggu, suhu keselesaan juga mungkin mempengaruhi
suhu badan pengunjung. Termografi Inframerah adalah penyelesaian berpotensi untuk
mengdiagnosis suhu badan pengunjung dari jarak jauh. Kebolehan teknik ini untuk
mengasingkan pelbagai suhu badan adalah penting di dalam kes yang memerlukan
pengesanan segera dalam menyaringkan pengunjung yang dijangkiti virus seperti virus
H1N1 yang melanda di UPM pada tahun 2009. Kajian melibatkan penyaringan sebanyak
313 pengunjung di Pusat Kesihatan. Setiap suhu badan pengunjung ditentukan dengan
merakam profil suhu muka dengan menggunakan alat Termografi Inframerah Fluke Thermal
Imager. Subjek duduk pada jarak kira-kira 1.0 meter dari alat. Profil suhu telah dianalisis
dengan menggunakan SmatView 2.0 untuk menentukan suhu badan.
Suhu udara di Pusat Kesihatan yang diukur menggunakan Monitor Tekanan Haba adalah
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antara 19°C hingga 21°C, lebih rendah daripada nilai yang diberikan oleh Piawaian
ANSI/ASHRAE (2004) dan ISO 7730 (2005) iaitu 24°C had bawah untuk keselesaan
termal. Seramai 63% dari jumlah pengunjung yang terlibat dalam ujikaji juga merasa selesa
dengan suhu udara persekitaran. PMV menunjukkan nilai yang dapat diterima pada -1.1 dan
PPD menunjukkan nilai yang paling diterima adalah pada 30.5.
Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa perbezaan kira-kira 1.1% dan 5.1% telah didapati di
antara bacaan Termografi Inframerah dan nilai yang diperolehi masing-masing dengan
menggunakan Termometer Klinikal Digital dan termometer makmal, masing-masing.
Keputusan telah disahkan oleh pegawai kanan perubatan kanan di Pusat Kesihatan UPM.
Daripada 313 pengunjung yang diuji menggunakan Termografi Inframerah, 38.9%
menunjukkan suhu badan 37-38ºC, 34.8% menunjukkan 38-39ºC, 14.1% menunjukkan 36-
37ºC, 8.3% menunjukkan 39-40ºC dan akhir sekali, 3.5% menunjukkan 35-36ºC.
Peranti Termografi Inframerah boleh digunakan secara berkesan untuk pemeriksaan suhu
badan dengan pantas tanpa sebarang sentuhan dengan pesakit, kerana rakaman dapat
dilakukan pada jarak 1-2 meter. Kaedah ini dapat mengurangkan 50% masa saringan bila
dibandingkan dengan kaedah klinikal biasa. Keputusan bacaan dari PMV dan PPD juga
adalah bertepatan dengan keputusan dari derian termal pengunjung di ruang menunggu.
Kajian juga menunjukkan yang Peranti Termogragfi Inframerah bukan saja berkebolehan
untuk mengukur suhu permukaan sesebuah bahan, bahkan ianya juga boleh mengukur suhu
badan manusia.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Alhamdulillah, thanks to Allah because without His blessings and guidance I would
not be able to have the strength and passion to complete this thesis. The completion
of this project satisfied me with all the efforts that I have been put in, in spite of the
many challenges and difficulties that I had to overcome.
First and foremost, a special thank to my supervisor, Associate Professor Ir. Dr Nor
Mariah Adam, for her patience and guidance throughout the completion of this
project, and Dr Aidy Ali who always give me advice and information on Infrared
Thermography and analysis. Without their help, I might not be able to overcome the
problems encountered.
Secondly, with the deepest gratitude, I wish to thank every person who has come into
my life and inspired me. To abah, kak long, kak ngah, dell, bella, dafeey, I would
like to express my gratitude and love for allowing me to be the person I am now.
Next acknowledgement that goes to my beloved friends, Khairul , Nurhanani, my
other colleagues and material lab assistant, Encik Wildan and ITMA lab assistant,
Encik Ali and Puan Ros. Not forgetting all staff at UPM Health Centre and
Dr Fauziah Adnan for her support and cooperation towards this study.
Special thanks to my beloved mother, Norhani Abdullah for her invaluable expert
guidance throughout the research and thesis preparing and writing. Only Allah can
repay her assistance.
Finally to my husband, Muhammad Syueib Mohammed Ali, thanks for being my
pillar of strength and never leaving my side. May Allah bless all of you.
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I certify that a Thesis Examination Committee has met on 17 January 2013 to conduct the final examination of Alina Binti Aminuddin on her thesis entitled
“THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS AT UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA
HEALTH CENTRE” in accordance with the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 and the Constitution of the Universiti Putra Malaysia [P.U.(A) 106] 15
March 1998. The Committee recommends that the student be awarded the degree of Master of Science.
Members of the Thesis Examination Committee were as follows:
Dr B.T Hang Tuah b. Baharudin,
Senior Lecturer,
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Chairman)
Datin Dr Napsiah bt. Ismail
Professor,
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Internal Examiner)
Dr Nuraini bt. Abdul Aziz
Senior Lecturer,
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Internal Examiner)
External 1, PhD
Professor,
Faculty of Graduate Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(External Examiner)
____________________________ SEOW HENG FONG, PhD
Professor and Deputy Dean
School of Graduate Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Date:
http://profile.upm.edu.my/hang_tuah/en/profail.htmlhttp://profile.upm.edu.my/ani145028/en/profail.html
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This thesis was submitted to the Senate of Universiti Putra Malaysia and has been
accepted as fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science. The
members of the Supervisory Committee were as follows:
Nor Mariah Adam, PhD, Ir
Associate Professor
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Putra Malaysia
(Chairman)
Aidy Ali, PhD
Professor
Faculty of Engineering
Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia
(Member)
_________________________
BUJANG BIN KIM HUAT, PhD
Professor and Dean
School of Graduate Studies
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Date:
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DECLARATION
I declare that the thesis is my original work except for quotations and citations which
have been duly acknowledged. I also declare that it has not been previously or
concurrently submitted for any other degree at Universiti Putra Malaysia or other
institutions.
________________________
ALINA BINTI AMINUDDIN
Date: 17 January 2013
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION ii
ABSTRACT iii
ABSTRAK vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix
APPROVAL x
DECLARATION xii
LIST OF TABLES xvi
LIST OF FIGURES xviii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxi
CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study 1 1.2 Problem Statement 2 1.3 Objectives 4 1.4 Scope and Limitation 5 1.5 Significant of the study 5 1.6 Thesis Layout 6
2 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Thermal Comfort 7
2.2 Thermal Comfort in Hospital/ Health Centre 9
2.2.1 Coping with H1N1 at the Health Centre 11
2.2.2 ASHRAE Standards 14
2.2.3 ISO Standards 15
2.2.4 Air Temperature 16
2.2.5 Relative Humidity 17
2.2.6 Mean Radiant Temperature 18
2.2.7 Clothing Insulation 18
2.2.8 Activity Level 19
2.2.9 Air Velocity 19
2.3 Infrared Thermography 20
2.4 Heat Transfer 26
2.5 Infrared Thermography in Medical Treatment 28
2.6 Infrared Thermography as an Application for
Measuring Thermal Comfort 32
2.7 Previous Studies of Infrared Thermography
Technique for Measuring the Thermal Comfort 33
Temperature
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2.8 Closure 35
3 MATERIAL AND METHODS
3.1 Introduction 37
3.2 The Health Centre 38
3.3 Flow Process of Project 43
3.4 Calculated Parameters 44
3.5 Selection of rooms 46
3.6 Heat Stress Monitor 1.1 48
3.7 The Location of HSM 49
3.8 The Computer Software of Thermal Comfort Equation 50
3.9 Statistical Method used in the study (ANOVA) 52
3.10 Total Of Participating Occupants at
Health Centre 52
3.11 Assessment of Thermal Comfort and Health as
Perceived by Occupants 53
3.12 The Survey 54
3.13 Development of Survey Form 55
3.14 Infrared Thermography 55
3.15 Instrument and calibration 56
3.16 Taking the occupant’s temperature 57
3.17 The procedure to take the image of the occupants
By using Infrared Thermography 60
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Thermal comfort at UPM Health Centre 61
4.2 ASHRAE Standard 63
4.3 Occupant’s Activity Level 63
4.3.1 Occupant’s Clothing Insulation 64
4.3.2 Result of PMV and PPD 64
4.3.3a Air Temperature 21.0 and Mean Radiant
Temperature 18.0 C 66
4.3.3b Air Temperature 17.3 C and Mean Radiant
Temperature 12.3 C 67
4.3.3c Air Temperature 19.0 C and Mean Radiant
Temperature 15.4 C 69
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4.3.3d Ideal graph for PMV vs PPD 70
4.3.3e Sample calculation of graph for
PMV vs PPD 71
4.4 Thermal Sensation Poll for UPM Health Centre 73
4.5 Perception of Occupants to Noise and Lighting System
For UPM Health Centre 76
4.6 Perception of Occupants of Cleanliness at UPM Health Centre 76
4.7 Thermal Conditions in Health Centre 88
4.8 Time duration of waiting for occupants to
Meet the Medical Officer 79
4.9 Calibration of Thermography Device 85
4.10 Validation Graph 88
4.11 Total Number of Participating Occupants at
the Health Centre 89
4.12 Locations of Study 92
4.13 Temperature Measurements by
Using the Infrared Thermography 94
4.14 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for occupant;’s body temperature and the change of weather 105
5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion 109
5.2 Recommendation 110
REFERENCES 111
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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
2.1 ASHRAE Standard recommendations 9
3.4 List of parameters 44
3.9 Hypotheses 52
4.3 Occupant’s activity level 64
4.3.1 Occupant’s Clothing Insulation 65
4.4.1 Calculated PMV and PPD values at different clo values 74
4.4.2 Thermal sensation poll for UPM Health Centre 76
4.5 Perception of occupants of noise and lighting system for Health Centre 77
4.8 Time Reduction for occupant’s to wait for the consultation time 80
4.10a Temperature of cold and hot water measured at the Material
Laboratory of Engineering 89
4.10b Body temperature of a subject measured at the Heath Centre 91
4.11 Different proportions of occupants according to age, gender and nationality at the Health Centre on three days observation 91
4.12 Number of occupants investigated at various locations 94
4.13a Number of occupants at various body temperature in Week 1 97
4.13b Number of occupants at various body temperature in Week 2 98
4.13c Number of occupants at various body temperature in Week 3 100
4.13d Number of occupants at various body temperature in Week 4 101
4.13e Number of occupants at various body temperature in Week 5 102
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4.13f Number of occupants at various body temperature in Week 6 104
4.13g Total number of occupants with various body temperatures for
The whole study 105
4.14a Difference of temperature according to the day of observation 107
4.15 The ANOVA of difference of temperature according to the day
of observation 108
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
2.3a Image focus 21
2.3b Thermal focus (human) 22
2.3c Thermal focus (ice) 22
3.2a The Health Centre of UPM (Pusat Kesihatan Universiti) 38
3.2b The entrance of UPM’s Health Centre (outside view) 39
3.2c The entrance of UPM’s Health Centre (inside view) 39
3.2d The registration counter of UPM’s Health Centre 40
3.2e The waiting room near to medical officer’s room 2,3 and 9 40
3.2f The waiting room near to medical officer’s room 7 and 8 41
3.2g The waiting room near to medical officer’s room 4,5 and 6 41
3.2h The waiting room near the entrance/exit door 42
3.2i Pharmacy counter 42
3.2j Triage counter 43
3.3 Flowchart of the Research 45
3.5 The layout of the ground floor of the Health Centre 47
3.6 Infrared Thermography Camera 49
3.7 The location of HSM to take the reading temperature 50
3.8 The example of ideal graph calculated by computer
Software 51
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3.11 The location where the survey had been done 53
3.14 Infrared Thermography Camera 56
3.15 Digital Clinical Thermometer 57
3.16a Capturing the image 58
3.16b Holding Infrared Thermography camera 58
3.16c The location of Infrared Thermography while capturing
an image from one occupant 59
3.16d One of the examples of captured image 59
3.17 The value of emissivity was set to 0.98 according to the Value of human’s skin emissivity 60
4.3.3a PPD vs PMV value for 0.57, 0.61, 0.67 and 0.96 clo 66
4.3.3b PPD vs PMV value for 0.57, 0.61, 0.67 and 0.96 clo 68
4.3.3c PPD vs PMV value for 0.57, 0.61, 0.67 and 0.96 clo 69
4.3.3d Ideal graph for PPD vs PMV 71
4.3.3e Sample calculation table for PPD and PMV 72
4.6 Number of occupants vs scale values of cleanliness 78
4.8 Number of occupants vs duration of waiting time 80
4.9a Temperature of ice water measured by a laboratory thermometer 86
4.9b Temperature reading of ice water using Infrared Thermography 86
4.9c Temperature of hot water measured by a laboratory thermometer 87
4.10a Relationship between thermometer and Infrared Thermography
Readings of cold and hot water 88
4.10b Body temperature measurement by using the Digital Clinical
Thermometer 90
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4.10c Body temperature measurement using the Infrared
Thermography 90
4.11 Number of occupants according to gender 92
4.12 The locations where occupants body temperature were taken and survey conducted at UPM Health Centre 93
4.13a The thermogram shows the maximum temperature to be 37.5ºC
measured at the inner canthi of the eyes 95
4.13b The thermogram shows the maximum temperature to be 37.8ºC
measured at the inner canthi of the eyes 95
4.13c Number of occupants and body temperatures in Week 1 96
4.13d Number of occupants and body temperatures in Week 2 98
4.13e Number of occupants and body temperatures in Week 3 99
4.13f Number of occupants and body temperatures in Week 4 100
4.13g Number of occupants and body temperatures in Week 5 102
4.13h Number of occupants and body temperatures in Week 6 103
4.13i Total number of occupants and body temperatures 107
4.14a Number of subjects participating for particular day 107
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
ASHRAE The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning
Engineers
clo Clothing insulation
HSM Heat Stress Monitor
HVAC Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning
Met Metabolic Rate
ms̵ ¹ meter per second
PMV Predicted Mean Vote
PPD Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied
UPM Universiti Putra Malaysia
ºC Degree Celcius
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heatinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventilation_%28architecture%29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_conditioning
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Comfortable condition is not only important for those who are working in the office to
maintain their efficiency but also for patients in clinics, hospitals and Health Centre. As
for patients, the waiting period is sometimes takes a longer duration because of needs
of patients. The thermal comfort condition is important at the Health Centre in order
to reduce stress and anxiety of patients. With good thermal comfort, human’s mind and
state of emotion express satisfaction is not aggravated.
In 2008, the emergence of a dangerous virus called H1N1 caused a fatal infection that
led to the death of human beings in many countries worldwide (Mercer et al., 2009).
This virus easily spread among people by personal contact, and by air. The highly risk
group includes children, pregnant women and the elderly people as they are normally
weak in defense and easily prone to infection. The H1N1 virus is believed to originate
from pig, which have undergone mutation. However, within a period of about a year, a
new vaccine against the mutated virus was developed. This vaccine is effective in
preventing the endemic status of the disease (Mercer et al., 2009).
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To curb the spread of the viral infection, health officials had utilized the Infrared
Thermography to detect possible infected subjects at strategic locations, including
airport entrance, hospitals and other public places. The Infrared Thermography device
can be mounted on the wall or ceiling to record the thermograms of the face. The
Infrared Thermography is widely used now to evaluate body temperature. The
intention is to screen everybody to detect high body temperature (Mercer et al., 2009).
Anyone with a high body temperature would be isolated for further clinical
examination to confirm the condition for further action like undergoing quarantine until
the body condition is normal.
Besides being essential to screen incoming subjects at airports, Infrared Thermography
is also used in the hospitals and Health Centre. With this non-invasive method, this
technique is highly recommended as it does not involve any physical contact with the
subjects.
1.2 Problem Statement
The insufficient information on the thermal comfort at Health Centre in Malaysia led to
this study as other studies emphasized investigation on thermal comfort in hospitals as
reported by Hussein et al. (2009), Yau et al. (2009) and Hwang et al. (2006).
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The field study on the thermal comfort at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Health
Centre was different from other studies performed by authors mentioned above as this
study involved determining the occupants body temperature by using the non-invasive
tool (Infrared Thermography), together with subjective and physical measurements of
conditions at various locations at the Health Centre. The non-invasive technique will
reduce time and provide comfortable screening without any long queue and personal
contact. This technique has been used widely at Malaysia’s airport, and can be a
potential technique to be applied at UPM Health Centre to reduce the risk of medical
officer getting infected by dangerous virus such as H1N1
At the beginning of each semester, the Health Centre has to process at least 5000
students and family members who come from many countries for medical check-up.
International students come from as many as 42 countries. Therefore it is crucial to
segregate possible infected students or family members, for screening of incidents of
H1N1.
On July 28, 2009, UPM campus in Serdang was closed for one week because of the
occurrence of H1N1 case to prevent rapid spreading of the infection among students
and staff at UPM. From July to December 2009, 14 confirmed cases incriminate with
the virus H1N1 had been received by the Health Centre. The University management
realized that this situation had to be controlled and the need to take relevant and fast
action in order to reduce the possibility of epidemic among the students during the
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health check as the incident to screen large number of students and family members
took long period of time had cause the Health Centre officers and students to
experience the stress. The usage of the Infrared Thermography is one of the best
solutions to rapidly screen patients with high body temperature to prevent the spread
caused by personal contact.
Procedure to measure thermal comfort follows the ISO 7730 and Fanger (1986) which
involve measurements of relative humidity, air temperature, mean radiant temperature,
activity level, clothing insulation and air velocity (Fanger,1986) and also calculations
of Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD).
1.3 Objectives
Objectives of the study are as follows
i) To determine the thermal comforts of occupants in various waiting areas at
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Health Centre.
ii) To perform the survey among the occupants of Health Centre towards their
perception of thermal comfort while waiting at the Health Centre.
iii) To evaluate the possibility of using Infrared Thermography for fast
screening of body temperature from a distance.
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1.4 Scope and limitation
The study was limited to collecting data from more than 300 occupants at UPM Health
Centre within 35 days. Studies conducted by Hussein et al. (2009), Ring et al. (2008)
and Yau et al. (2009) involved a total number of 375, 191 and 114 occupants,
respectively. In addition, a personal opinion from Dr Shamsul Bahari Tamrin, a
lecturer from the Faculty of Medicine, UPM, stated that, a total of 315 occupants is
enough for data collection and analysis. Therefore, the total number of 313 occupants
investigated within a 35 days period in this study was justified.
Another limitation was the availability of rooms for conducting the investigation. The
study was conducted at various locations at the Health Centre, in particular the waiting
areas outside the medical officer rooms, dental clinic and near the pharmacy. The
study could not be carried out in medical officer or dentists rooms, as this is forbidden
by the Health Centre’s authority.
1.5 Significant of the study
The quality of the indoor environment in waiting rooms is best determined by thermal
comfort as it is essential to the health and comfort of those who stay in that room over
an extended period of time. Besides patients and medical officer and other health care
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workers are constantly exposed to indoor environments that require thermal comfort in
order to carry out their duties or activities. As the condition of mind and body will be
affected by thermal comfort, it is important to perform this study in order to evaluate
the status of the thermal comfort of patients and health workers. The information
obtained will indicate the status of thermal comfort of the subjects in these areas and
form a basis for improvement.
1.6 Thesis Layout
This thesis consists of six chapters as listed below:
Chapter 1 introduces the background, problem statement, objectives, scope and
limitation and significant of the study.
Chapter 2 elaborates the review of literature related to thermal comfort, Health
Centre, Infrared Thermography and H1N1.
Chapter 3 describes the methodology used in this research and objective
approach, subjective study and survey methods that were conducted for data
collection.
Chapter 4 consists of results, analysis and discussion.
Chapter 5 concludes the main findings in relations to the objectives of the
research and recommendation for future research.
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THERMAL COMFORT ANALYSIS AT UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIAHEALTH CENTREABSTRACTTABLE OF CONTENTSCHAPTER 1REFERENCES