An Overview of Current Methods for Thermal Comfort Assessment in Vehicle Cabin

Abstract

Thermal comfort has been studied for a long time, resulting in several indices to assess the thermal comfort today. Contrary to the case of building, assessing thermal comfort in vehicles has several particularities. The effect of solar radiation, poor interior insulation, the non-uniformity of the average radiant temperature, a very short time to ensure the comfort parameters are some of the characteristics of an automotive environment. Indoor Environmental Quality in buildings has gained importance in the last decade and now is developing a new direction of research, the environmental quality in vehicles. The ambience quality is an important criterion in marketing this type of products. It influences not only the thermal comfort inside the car, but it also reduces the risk of accidents by reducing the driver's stress and ensuring a good visibility, which leads to a safer trip. In this study, we reviewed the most popular methods for assessing thermal comfort.