8/28/2015

Thermal Comfort:
Effect of climatic elements on thermal comfort 
environment.

CLIMATOLOGY
Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015

Understanding Thermal comfort
Daily life cycle  activity, fatigue and recovery.
This Cycle can be impeded by unfavorable climatic
Condition  Which results in discomfort, loss of efficiency
y
and health break down.

It is the task of the designers to strive towards the optimum

of total comfort, which may be defined as the sensation of
complete physical and mental well-being.
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The characteristics of each climate differ and accordingly the comfort requirements vary
from one climatic zone to another.

THERMAL COMFORT
According to ASHRAE, Thermal comfort is,

• That condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the

thermal environment.
environment.

• The range of climatic conditions within which a majority of the

people would not feel discomfort either of heat or cold
cold..

Such a zone in still air corresponds to a range of 20 – 30 ºC dry bulb temperature with 30 –
60 % relative humidity.

Besides, various climatic elements such as wind speed, vapour pressure 
and radiation also affect the comfort conditions. 

Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015

FACTORS THAT AFFECT THERMAL COMFORT

– Air temperature
– Humidity
– Radiation
– Air Movement
– Clothing Insulation
– Metabolic Rate

• All these factors should be taken into consideration in 
order to design.

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FACTORS THAT AFFECT THERMAL COMFORT

Air temperature: 
te pe atu e:
• Temperature of the air surrounding the body. 
• Measured in degrees Celsius (°C) or degrees Fahrenheit (°F).

Humidity::
Humidity
• Relative humidity between 40% and 70% does not have a major impact on thermal
comfort.
• Air conditioned offices – RH 40% ‐ 70%.
• Non air conditioned spaces – RH can be higher than 70%
• High humidity environments have a lot of vapour in the air, which prevents the
evaporation of sweat from the skin.
• In hot environments, humidity is important because less sweat evaporates when
humidity is high (80%+).
The evaporation of sweat is the main method of heat loss in humans.
Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015

Radiation: 
• Thermal radiation is the heat that radiates from a warm object. 
• Radiant heat may be present if there are heat sources in an environment.
• Radiant temperature has a greater influence than air temperature on how we lose or gain 
heat to the environment. 
• Our skin absorbs almost as much radiant energy as a matt black object, although this may 
be reduced by wearing reflective clothing.
• Examples of radiant heat sources include: the sun; fire; electric fires; furnaces; steam 
E l f di t h t i l d th fi l t i fi f t
rollers; ovens; walls in kilns; cookers; dryers; etc.

Air Movement: 
This describes the speed of air moving across the person. Air velocity is an important factor in 
thermal comfort because people are sensitive to it.
Still or stagnant air in indoor environments that are artificially heated
may cause people to feel stuffy
stuffy.. It may also lead to a build
build‐‐up in odour
odour..

Moving air in warm or humid conditions can increase heat loss

through convection without any change in air temperature
temperature..

Small air movement in cool or cold environments may be perceived

as draught
draught.. If the air temperature is less than skin temperature it will
significantly increase convective heat loss
loss..

Physical activity also increases air movement, so air velocity may be

corrected to account for a person's level of Climatology 3.7‐
physical activity
activity..
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PERSONAL FACTORS
Clothing insulation:
• Clothing, by its very nature, interferes with our ability to lose 
heat to the environment.
• Thermal comfort is very much dependent on the insulating 
effect of clothing on the wearer.

THERMAL PROCESSES OF HUMAN BODY

THERMAL PROCESSES OF HUMAN BODY
Body’s Heat Production
• The processes of converting foodstuff into
usable forms of energy are called
METABOLISM.
• Total metabolic heat production = basal
metabolism + muscular metabolism.
a) BASAL METABOLISM – Heat production
of vegetative, automatic processes which
are continuous.
b) MUSCULAR METABOLISM ‐ Heat
production of muscles while carrying out
consciously controlled work.
• Of all the energy produced only 20% is utilized.
Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015
• The remaining 80% is the surplus heat which has to be dissipated into the environment.

The unit of the metabolic rate is known as 'met'. which is equivalent to

58.2 W/m2. Some values of metabolic rates for various typical activities
are presented below.

Activity Metabolic Activity Metabolic

Rate Rate
(Met) (Met)

RESTING 0.7 MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS 1.4-2.0

Sleeping 0.8 Bakery 1.2-2.4
Reclining 1.0 Brewery 1.8-2.2
Seated, quiet 1.2 Carpentry 4.0-4.8
Standing, relaxed 2.0-3.8 Machine sawing, table 5.6-6.4
WALKING 2.0-3.4 Sawing by hand 3.0-3.4
DOMESTIC WORK, WOMEN 1.6-2.0 Planning by hand 5.0-7.0
House cleaning 2.0-3.6 Foundry work 2.2-3.0
Cooking 1.4-1.8 Using a pneumatic hammer 1.4-1.8
Washing by hand and ironing 1.2-1.4 Tending furnaces 2.0-2.4
Shopping 1.1-1.3 Garage work 3.5-4.5
OFFICE WORK 1.1-1.3 General laboratory work 2.0
Typing 1 2-2
1.2 2.0
0 Machine work 16
1.6
Miscellaneous office work 3.0-4.0 Light 1.1
Drafting 2.4-4.4 Heavy 1.5
LEISURE ACTIVITIES 3.6-4.6 Shop Assistant 2.0
Stream fishing 5.0-7.2 Teacher 3.2
Calisthenics exercise 5.0-7.2 Watch repairer, seated 1.4
Dancing, social 7.0-8.7 Vehicle driving 1.8
Tennis, singles 1.4-2.6 Car 2.4
Squash, singles 1.4-1.8

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BODY’S HEAT LOSS
• Surplus body heat has to be dissipated to the environment.

• Body can release heat by:

a) CONVECTION – Heat transmission from body to air in

contact with skin or clothing. This air gets heated and
rises & is replaced by cooler air.

b) RADIATION – Radiant heat loss depends on

temperature of surface of body and of opposing
surface.

c) EVAPORATION – This depends on humidity of air and

amount of moisture available for evaporation.

d) CONDUCTION – Depends on temperature difference

between body surface and the object the body is in
direct contact with.
Balance between them maintains the body temperature
Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015

The thermal balance of the body can be expressed as :

Met – Evp  Cnv  Rad  Cnd = 0 where
Gain: Met = metabolism (basal & muscular)
Cnd = Conduction (contact with warm bodies)
Cnv = Convection (if the air is warmer than the skin)
Rad = Radiation ((from the sun,, the key
y and hot bodies))
Loss: Cnd = Conduction (comfort with cold bodies)
Cnv = Convection (if the air is cooler than the skin)
Rad = Radiation (to might sky and cold surfaces)
Evp = evaporation (of moisture and sweat)

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Heat loss in various thermal environment.

Calm, warm air, moderate humidity.

Air temperature – 18o C
Air velocity > 0.25 m/s
Humidity
d -- 40 to 60 %
A person engaged in sedentary work will dissipate heat without any
difficulty
By radiation – 45 %
By convention – 30 %
By evaporation – 25%

Hot air and considerable radiation.

As the air temperature approaches skin temperature,
temperature convective heat loss
gradually decreases.
Air temperature >= body temperature  No more convictional heat loss
 No radiation heat loss
Thermal balance of the body is maintained by evaporation, provided air is
sufficiently dry to permit high evaporation.

Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015

Hot air radiation and appreciable air movement
Air temperature >= body temperature  conviction element +
Radiation element + and
in high humidity [but less than 100%] air movement will accelerate
evaporation, thus increase the heat dissipations.

In 100% humidity,
humidity air movement would only increase discomfort and heat
gain

Saturated still air , above body temperature 

Air temperature > body temperature

Air movement > 0.25 %
RH = near 100 %
Convective element +, +
Radioactive element +,
Evaporative element +,
Therefore the body heat raises, when it increases by 2 to 3o, heat stroke and
if still more raises to say about 45o  death is unavoidable.
such situations are rarely,if ever, occur in nature but could be produced
inside buildings of poor design and management.
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EFFECTS OF PROLONGED EXPOSURE

•Prolonged exposure to discomfort conditions can produce adverse

effects.
•Even if physiological control mechanism can maintain life ,there is a
considerable loss of efficiency in work with physical strain.
•Factors which provide immediate relief can cause discomfort if they
occur for long.
•Conditions which are perfectly comfortable, may produce adverse effects
if constant over a long periods.because one of the basic needs of the
human being is change and variation.
•The designer should aim at a range of comfort conditions, within which
considerable variations are permitted.
p
•Such variations will be produce by the diurnal variations.

Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015

Subjective variables
The sensation of comfort or discomfort depends primarily on the four climatic 
variables. Thermal preferences are influenced by a number of subjective or 
individual factors.
1.clothing
2. Acclimatisation
3.Age 
4.body shape
5.subcutaneous fat
6.state of health
7.food and drink
8. Skin color

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Thank you

Climatology 3.7‐ BMSSA‐AK‐SHK_2015