Title of Dataset: Correlating Indoor and Outdoor Temperature and Humidity in a Sample of Buildings in Tropical Climates
Author(s): Jin Pan, Julian Tang, Miguela Caniza, Jean-Michel Heraud, Evelyn Koay, Hong Kai Lee, Chun Kiat Lee, Yuguo Li, Alejandra Nava Ruiz, Carlos Francisco Santillan-Salas, Linsey C. Marr
Corresponding Author Email Address: lmarr@vt.edu (L. Marr)
Categories: GROUP 9602 ATMOSPHERE AND WEATHER; GROUP 9603 CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Group: Civil and Environmental Engineering
Item Type: Dataset
Keywords: temperature, humidity, indoor, respiratory virus, climate, outdoor
Description: The incidence of several respiratory viral infections has been shown to be related to climate. Because humans spend most of their time indoors, measures of indoor climate, rather than outdoor climate, may be better predictors of disease incidence and transmission. Therefore, understanding the relationship between indoor and outdoor climate will help illuminate their influence on the seasonality of diseases caused by respiratory viruses. Indoor-outdoor relationships between temperature and humidity have been documented in temperate regions, but little information is available for tropical regions, where seasonal patterns of respiratory viral diseases differ. We have examined indoor-outdoor correlations of temperature, relative humidity (RH), and absolute humidity (AH) over a 1-year period in each of seven tropical cities. Across all cities, the average monthly indoor temperature was 25±3°C (mean ± standard deviation) with a range of 20–30°C. The average monthly indoor RH was 66±9% with a range of 50–78%, and the average monthly indoor AH was 15±3 g/m3 with a range of 10–23 g/m3. Indoor AH and RH were linearly correlated with outdoor AH when the air-conditioning (AC) was off, suggesting that outdoor AH may be a good proxy of indoor humidity in the absence of AC. All indoor measurements were more strongly correlated with outdoor measurements as distance from the equator increased. Such correlations were weaker during the wet season, especially when AC was in operation. These correlations will provide insight for assessing the seasonality of respiratory viral infections using outdoor climate data, which is more widely available than indoor data, even though transmission of these diseases mainly occurs indoors.
Resource Title: Correlating Indoor and Outdoor Temperature and Humidity in a Sample of Buildings in Tropical Climates
Other References: 
1) http://andrew.rsmas.miami.edu/Humidity.html
2) Alduchov, O. A., and R. E. Eskridge, 1996: Improved Magnus' form approximation of saturation vapor pressure. J. Appl. Meteor., 35, 601–609. doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450%281996%29035%3C0601%3AIMFAOS%3E2.0.CO;2
3) August, E. F., 1828: Ueber die Berechnung der Expansivkraft des Wasserdunstes. Ann. Phys. Chem., 13, 122–137. doi.org/10.1002/andp.18280890511
4) Magnus, G., 1844: Versuche über die Spannkräfte des Wasserdampfs. Ann. Phys. Chem., 61, 225–247. doi.org/10.1002/andp.18441370202
License: CC-0
Publisher: University Libraries, Virginia Tech
Language: English
Location: Antananarivo, Madagascar; Blacksburg, VA, USA; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Hong Kong, China; Lima, Peru; Singapore, Singapore; Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico

Files/Folders in Dataset and Description of Files 
(For zip, tar, or other packaged files, include file/folder structure within the packaged file)
[Dataset] – Include all data
[Location name_AH.cvs] – Indoor absolute humidity (columns with an underscore and a number) and the corresponding outdoor absolute humidity in the location
[Location name_RH.cvs] - Indoor relative humidity (columns with an underscore and a number) and the corresponding outdoor relative humidity in the location
[Location name_Temp.cvs] - Indoor temperature (columns with an underscore and a number) and the corresponding outdoor temperature in the location