Thermal comfort evaluation of student dormitory buildings in Syiah Kuala University

Abstract This study aims to analyse the thermal conditions of the student dormitory building against differences of orientation in tropical climates, which significantly impacts the thermal comfort of dormitory room occupants. Student dormitory building has a multi-floor design that accommodates a variety of daily student activities in it. The dormitory building that was chosen as the object of this study is the women’s dormitory building Rusunawa A which is located in the campus area of Syiah Kuala University. The research method used was quantitative with a descriptive approach. Quantitative data collected in the form of measurement results of physical variables include air temperature, radiant temperature, humidity, and air flow velocity in the sample rooms selected as the research object. Results indicate that the physical variables of thermal comfort in natural building design are influenced by the orientation of the building. Field survey data, based on thermal comfort factors measured in the Student Dormitory building, indicates an uncomfortable temperature exceeding the threshold scale of SNI 03-6572-2001.