The adaptive thermal comfort review from the 1920s, the present, and the future

Abstract

The typical method for comfort analysis is the Predicted Mean Vote and Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PMV-PPD). However, they present limitations in accommodating the comfort of a disabled and elder group of people, which are the most vulnerable to climate change and energy poverty. The adaptive method can give flexibility and personalisation needed to overcome the problem due to the variability of the people’s metabolism, historical and behavioural preferences. Investments to upgrade the indoor environmental quality and building design can then be effectively used and, for the first time, it will be possible to tailor the solutions for these particular groups of people. The adaptive approach uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), where it can introduce the imperfect learning process. Overcoming this, instead of going further for the Explainable AI, the PMV–PPD approach can be used for the learning validation and verification needed for the adaptive setting point and standards.