Changes and Issues in Research on the Evaluation of the Indoor Thermal Environment of Houses in Japan from the Viewpoint of a Warmth-Preservation Lifestyle

Abstract

Research on the thermal comfort of houses in Japan has developed mainly in some parts of the field of architectural environmental engineering. It is believed to have its roots in the hygienic sciences that sought to improve the poor living conditions of urban residents during the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. In 1964, a part of the architectural planning theory field was renamed to architectural environmental engineering, but the majority of the research conducted was related to environmental physics. In the early days, research on the sensation of temperature and comfort was mainly based on diagrammatic stimulusresponse (S-R) research. Later, the research framework was expanded to include the development from human sensation and perception to cognition, multisensory research, occupant behavior, and social psychological aspects.Historically, Japanese housing has been characterized by low thermal insulation and airtightness, which has led to a warmth-preservation lifestyle for the occupants. The persistence of the idea that "even in the house, it is cold in winter " has persisted even in recent years. Massabuau, J. P. observed that in regard to Japanese housing, the function of heat and cold protection has been neglected and extreme priority has been given to simplicity and aesthetics. In Japan, there is definitely a tendency to regard a warm environment in winter as a luxury, and this may be a disincentive to promote the insulation and airtightness of houses.Furthermore, we included discussions on the importance of cultural perspectives in future research in this field.

Categorizing the behavior and values of detached housing residents related to obtaining warmth

“…Opinions differ as to the performance of older Japanese dwellings in protecting against heat, but there is little doubt that at least their performance in protecting against cold was poor. In the previous report mentioned above, Matsubara, 28 it was noted that one characteristic of the warmth preservation lifestyle of living that was formed in Japanese dwellings, which were very cold in winter, was a crossmodal characteristic that mitigated thermal discomfort by focusing attention on the visual, auditory, and other senses. This situation also suggests the existence of cultural differences between Western countries and Japan.…”

“…In a previous review 28 of the history of residential thermal‐environmental research over the past 50 years, several reasons were presented for paying particular attention to crossmodal adaptation mechanisms in Japanese housing.…”