Developing an adaptive model of thermal comfort and preference

TLDR

The adaptive hypothesis posits that contextual factors and past thermal history shape occupants' thermal expectations and preferences, predicting that people in warm climates prefer warmer indoor temperatures, contrary to the static assumptions of ASHRAE Standard 55‑92. The study examined the adaptive hypothesis and its implications for Standard 55‑92 by assembling a quality‑controlled database of roughly 21,000 observations from 160 buildings worldwide. Statistical analysis of the database was used to investigate the semantics of thermal comfort in terms of thermal sensation.

Abstract

The adaptive hypothesis predicts that contextual factors and past thermal history modify building occupants' thermal expectations and preferences. One of the predictions of the adaptive hypothesis is that people in warm climate zones prefer warmer indoor temperatures than people living in cold climate zones. This is contrary to the static assumptions underlying the current ASHRAE comfort standard 55-92. To examine the adaptive hypothesis and its implications for Standard 55-92, the ASHRAE RP-884 project assembled a quality-controlled database from thermal comfort field experiments worldwide (circa 21,000 observations from 160 buildings). Our statistical analysis examined the semantics of thermal comfort in terms of thermal sensation,