The Impact of Public Green Space Views on Indoor Thermal Perception and Environment Control Behavior of Residents - A Survey Study in Shanghai

Abstract

To reduce energy consumption while meeting the indoor thermal comfort requirements of residential buildings, this survey study explores the visual-thermal cross-modal effect of public green space window view on residents’ indoor thermal perception, and how this effect regulates residents’ environment control behavior. Based on an online questionnaire, 424 valid data were collected from Shanghai residents during the lockdown period during which the window view is the only accessible connection to the outside. The result shows that public green space views, while not significantly changing the physical thermal sensation of residents, made a greater proportion of participants feel thermal neutral, and significantly improved the participants' environmental evaluation, thermal comfort, and thermal acceptance, resulting in a 7% decrease in using air conditioning and 7% increase in natural ventilation. Path analysis reveals that public green space window view can improve indoor thermal comfort by enhancing subjective environmental evaluation, and thus encourage passive environmental regulation behavior, reducing energy consumption. Complementing previous studies, this research provides direct evidence for the energy-saving potential of public green space in residential areas from a different angle. Keywords: Visual-thermal interaction; cross-modal perception; Environment control behavior; Environmental psychology; Sustainable design