SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE

Fundamentals of Thermal Comfort

DR AVLOKITA AGRAWAL
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

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Fundamentals of Thermal Comfort

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 What is Thermal Comfort?
“…absence of irritation or discomfort due to heat or cold…
(Givoni, 1969)

“Thermal comfort is that condition of mind which expresses

satisfaction with the thermal environment. Because there are large
variations, both physiologically and psychologically, from person to
person, it is difficult to satisfy everyone in a space.”
(ASHRAE Standard 55, 2010)
 What is Thermal Comfort?
• To carry out statistical analysis numerical values were assigned to
subjective comfort votes.
• First such scale was developed in 1927 by Yaglou.
• In terms of sensations, thermal comfort is described as a thermal
sensation of being neither too warm nor too cold.
• ASHRAE proposed a similar seven point scale to thermal
sensations which are shown below.

-3: Cold
-2: Cool
-1: Slightly Cool
0: Neutral
+1: Slightly Warm
+2: Warm
+3: Hot
 What is Adaptive Thermal Comfort?
• Adaptive comfort is based on the principle that people experience
differently and adapt, up to a certain extent, to a variety of indoor
conditions, depending on their clothing, their activity and general
physical condition.
• Therefore, contrary to the conventional cooling which is based on pre-
calculated temperatures and humidity levels, the adaptive approach is
based on a non fixed set of conditions, taking into account thermal
perception and behaviour of the user.
• This process requires the user to take an active role in controlling his
indoor environment.

• Be it the Normal or Adaptive thermal comfort model, there are a few

important determining parameters that affect the design directly.
• These factors are as follows:
 Primary Factors
• ASHRAE Standard 55 defined the primary factors to be addressed while determining
thermal comfort conditions for indoor air quality.
• These conditions are majorly divided into two categories:
– Factors dependent on environmental conditions.
– Factors dependent on personal preference.

– Environmental Factors:
• Air Temperature
• Air Speed
• Relative Humidity
• Radiant Temperature

– Personal Factors:
• Clothing Insulation
• Metabolic Rate
Environmental Factors
 Air Temperature
• Air Temperature is the average temperature of the air, an
occupant is surrounded with.
• It has a direct impact on perceived thermal comfort.
• It can also be dubbed as Dry Bulb Temperature as it is measured
using a dry bulb thermometer.
• Dry Bulb Temperature (DBT): “The temperature of air, read on an
thermometer, taken in such a way so as to avoid errors due to
radiation.” (SP 41, 1987)
• Wet Bulb Temperature (WBT): “The steady temperature finally
given by a thermometer having its bulb covered with gauze or
muslin moistened with distilled water an placed in an air stream
of not less than 4.5 m/s.” (SP 41, 1987)
 Radiant Temperature
• Mean Radiant Temperature: “The uniform surface temperature of an
imaginary black enclosure in which an occupant would exchange
the same amount of radiant heat as in the actual non-uniform
space.” (ASHRAE Standard 55, 2010)

MRT = Tg + 2.42 x V (Tg – Ta)

(Novalynx Corporation, 2010)
Ta – Air temperature
Tg – Globe temperature
V- Velocity in centimetre per second.

• The Mean Radiant Temperature can be used to calculate the

Operative Temperature.
To = 0.5 Tdbt + 0.5 Tmrt
To – Operative Temperature
Tdbt – Dry Bulb Temperature
Radiant Temperature
 Relative Humidity
• Relative Humidity (RH): “The ratio of the partial pressure (or
density)of the water vapour in the air to the saturation pressure
(or density) of water vapour at the same temperature and the
same total pressure.” (ASHRAE Standard 55, 2010)
• It can be calculated using a psychrometric chart, when the Dry
Bulb Temperature and the Wet Bulb Temperature are known.
 Relative Humidity
• The importance of the relative humidity value playing a role in
the perception of thermal comfort cannot be stressed enough.
• Maintaining an optimum relative humidity value is importance
due to many reasons of which one is shown below.
Psychrometric Chart
Reading a Psychrometric Chart
W, TDP
TDB

TWB
RH
v
 Air Speed
• Indoor Air Speed: The average of
wind speeds measured at
symmetrically distributed points
on a horizontal plane in the
normally occupied zone (a
region lying between 0.6m to 1.2
m above the floor) (NBC, 2005 &
SP 41, 1987)
• Air Speed is generally measured
using a Wind Anemometer.
Measuring Environmental
Factors

Data Logging Air Speed Surface Temperature

Wet and Dry Bulb Temperatures Relative Humidity

Personal Factors
 Clothing Insulation

• Clothing insulation may be expressed in clo units.

• It has similar dimensions as the R value.
1 clo = 0.155 K m² W⁻¹ = 0.88 R
• It may be defined as:
“The amount of insulation that allows a person at rest to maintain
thermal equilibrium in an environment at 21°C in a normally
ventilated room (0.1 m/s air movement).”
Clothing Insulation
 Metabolic Rate

• Metabolism affects the perception of thermal comfort, which is

different for different individuals.
1 met = 58 W/ m2 of Body Surface Area
• For an average man, one met roughly corresponds to 100 W /
m2.
• Human Body also regulates core body temperature (36.7º C) as
per need (Vasodilation or Vasocontraction.)
Metabolic Rate
 Thermal Comfort Indices
• The conditions required for thermal comfort may vary according
to various locations, indoor / outdoor conditions etc.
• They may not be uniform even over a single occupants body let
alone in-between individuals.
• But to make it easier to understand and quantify, the particular
combinations of temperature, humidity and wind velocity
producing the same thermal sensations in an individual are
considered to have the same effective temperature. (SP 41, 1987)
• A single scale which combines the effects of various thermal
comfort factors (such as air temperature, humidity, air movement
and radiation) is called a Thermal Index or Comfort Scale.
• Various such indices were developed over a long period of time
and some of these are more effective in particular situations than
others for different reasons that are further discussed.
• Some of the more popular ones are as follows:
 Effective Temperature (ET)
• The effective temperature scale was developed by Houghton
and Yaglou in 1923.
• This was done by plotting their findings on a psychrometric chart
representing ‘equal comfort lines’.
• Effective temperature can be defined as:
“The temperature of still, saturated atmosphere, which would, in the
absence of radiation, produce the same effect as the atmosphere in
question.”
(Koenigsberger, Ingersoll, Szokolay & Mawhey, 2013)
• This was then later on modified by Yaglou in 1947 and was
generally accepted.
• A nomogram for effective temperature in the normal scale is
shown in the next slide that makes the values easy to calculate.
Effective Temperature Nomogram
Corrected Effective Temperature (CET)
• While the effective temperature scale considered three
variables, air temperature, relative humidity and air velocity.
• The corrected effective temperature also accounts radiation
effects in addition to the three environment variables.
• The consideration of heat gain or loss by the radiation effect is
helpful in adjusting the effective temperature to the CET.
• The CET is measured by air temperature, air movement, relative
humdity and the radiant heat (Koenigsberger, Ingersoll, Szokolay,
& Mawhey, 2013) .
• It can be measured using globe thermometer (radiant
temperature), wet bulb thermometer (for relative humidity) and
air speed measuring devices.
Corrected Effective Temperature (CET)
 Equivalent Warmth (EW)
• T. Bedford conducted a study on 2000 factory workers in England in 1936, who were
engaged in light work with changing indoor conditions.
• Subjective responses from workers were recorded along with simultaneously
measuring Air temperature, relative humidity and Mean radiant temperature.
• He also considered the surface temperatures of clothing and skin.
• After correlating the findings, using statistical analysis methods, the equivalent
warmth scale was constructed and defined by a nomogram (Koenigsberger,
Ingersoll, Szokolay, & Mawhey, 2013).
• This method is perceived as reliable within the zone of comfort up to 35° C along with
low RH and up to 30° C with high RH.
• One of the shortcomings is the underestimation of the cooling effect of air movement
during high humidity.
 Operating Temperature (OT)
• Winslow, Herrington and Gagge developed another thermal comfort scale in
USA, similar in working principle to the scale of equivalent warmth by Bedford.
• It considers air temperature and radiation effect.
• The study was done for a specific region of cold conditions with negligible air
movement and effects of humidity was considerably low.
 Equatorial Comfort Index (ECI)

• This index was developed by C. G.

Webb in Singapore during 1960’s.
• In this approach the subjective
responses of acclimatised subjects
were recorded together with
measurements of air temperature,
humidity and air movement.
• The experimentally-found
relationships were organised into a
formula and shown on a graph, very
similar to the ET nomogram.
 Resultant Temperature (RT)
• This scale was developed by
Missénard, in France.
• This scale is a slight improvement
on the Effective Temperature
scale.
• The nomogram defining it is
almost identical with the ET
nomogram.
• It is thought to be reliable for
moderate climates but not for
tropical conditions as it does not
allow sufficiently for the cooling
effects of air movement over 35°
C and 80% RH.
Predicted Four Hour Sweat Rate (P4SR)
• The method attempts to correlate
subjective sensations with climatic
measurement.
• It is primarily concerned with the
objective determination of physical
stress.
• Metabolic rates as well as clothing, air
temperature, humidity, air movement
and mean radiant temperature of the
surroundings were considered.
• The sweat rate scale was established on
the basis of many different combinations
of the above variables producing the
same sweat rate, thus presumably the
same physiological stress.
 Heat Stress Index (HSI)
• In this method the
metabolic heat production
of subjects doing various
kinds of work is measured
and taken as an indication
of heat stress.
• It is thought to be reliable
for still air between 27 &
35° C, 30 and 80% RH, and
for lower humidity if
temperatures are higher,
but unsuitable for the
comfort zone.
 Fanger’s Comfort Analysis
• Perhaps the most commonly cited experiments on the human perception of
thermal comfort have been performed by Povl Ole Fanger.
• His analysis indicated that the sensation of thermal comfort was most significantly
determined by narrow ranges of skin temperature and sweat evaporation rate,
depending on activity level.
• That is more active people were comfortable at low skin temperatures and higher
evaporation rates.
• By combining this information with the thermal energy balance equations, he
developed a set of correlations giving the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) as a
function of six variables: air temperature, mean radiant temperature, air velocity,
air humidity, clothing resistance, and activity level.
• There are many tools nowadays incorporating these equations developed by
Fanger to find the PMV, like the Thermal Comfort Tool developed by the Centre for
Built Environment at University of California Berkeley.
 Predicted Mean Vote (PMV)
• Fanger’s equations are used to calculate the Predicted Mean
Vote (PMV) of a large group of subjects for a particular
combination of air temperature, mean radiant temperature,
relative humidity, air speed, metabolic rate, and clothing
insulation. (Fanger,1970)
• Zero is the ideal value, representing thermal neutrality, and the
comfort zone is defined by the combinations of the six
parameters for which the PMV is within the recommended limits (-
0.5<PMV<+0.5). (ASHRAE Standard 55, 2013)
• ASHRAE Standard 55-2013 uses the PMV model to set the
requirements for indoor thermal conditions. It requires that at
least 80% of the occupants be satisfied.
 CBE Thermal Comfort Tool
• The CBE Thermal Comfort Tool for
ASHRAE 55 allows users to input
the six comfort parameters to
determine whether a certain
combination complies with
ASHRAE 55.
• The results are displayed on a
psychrometric or a temperature-
relative humidity chart and
indicate the ranges of
temperature and relative
humidity that will be comfortable
with the given the values input
for the remaining four
parameters.

Hoyt Tyler, Schiavon Stefano, Piccioli Alberto, Moon Dustin, and Steinfeld Kyle, 2013, CBE Thermal Comfort Tool.
Center for the Built Environment, University of California Berkeley, http://cbe.berkeley.edu/comforttool/
 Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD)
• The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) is the average response of a large number of
people. Given the subjective nature of comfort, there will actually be a
distribution of satisfaction among a large group of people.
• The following figure shows an empirical relationship between the Percentage of
People Dissatisfied (PPD) with a thermal environment as a function of the PMV.
 ASHRAE Comfort Standard
• ASHRAE has developed an industry consensus standard to describe comfort
requirements in buildings.
• The standard is known as ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 Thermal Environmental
Conditions for Human Occupancy.
• The purpose of this standard is to specify the combinations of indoor thermal
environmental factors and personal factors that will produce thermal
environmental conditions acceptable to a majority of the occupants within the
space.
• One of the most recognizable features of Standard 55 is the ASHRAE Comfort Zone
as portrayed on a modified psychrometric chart.
• The Standard allows the comfort charts to be applied to spaces where the
occupants have activity levels that result in metabolic rates between 1.0 met and
1.3 met and where clothing is worn that provides between 0.5 clo and 1.0 clo of
thermal insulation.
• The comfort zone is based on the PMV values between -0.5 and +0.5.
ASHRAE Comfort Standard
 Tropical Summer Index (TSI)
• Tropical summer index is a thermal comfort index based on climate of India.
• It is adaptive thermal comfort index since is based exclusively for Indian subject
based on research done by CBRI Roorkee.
• The TSI is defined as: “The temperature of calm air, at 50 percent relative humidity
which imparts the same thermal sensation as the given environment.”
• The 50 percent level of relative humidity is chosen for this index as it is a reasonable
intermediate value for the prevailing humidity conditions. (SP 41, 1987)

TSI = 1/3 Tw + 3/4 Tg - 2√v

Tw= Wet Bulb Temperature in °C
Tg = Globe Temperature in °C
V = Air Speed in m/s

• TSI Defines the Thermal comfort range as 25°C - 30°C with best optimum comfort at
27.5°C.
 Heat Exchange
• There are multiple ways heat
exchange takes place between
the human body and the
environment.
• The most common ways it occurs
are:
– Conduction
– Convection
– Radiation
– Evaporation
– The human body attempts to
regulate the heat exchange in
many ways so as to not affect the
health of the individual.
 Heat Exchange
• The loss of heat in the human body is regulated through various processes of which
the Vasodilation and Vasocontraction are important to understand as they affect
different individuals differently, leading to varied levels of sensation of comfort.
 Conduction

• Conduction is caused when heat is

directly transmitted through the material
of a substance when there is a
difference of temperature between
adjoining regions through vibration and
without movement of the material.
 Convection
• Conduction is caused by the movement
of particles within a fluid or air by the
tendency of hotter and therefore less
dense material to rise, and colder, denser
material to sink under the influence of
gravity, which consequently results in
transfer of heat.
 Evaporation
• Evaporation is the process of a
substance in a liquid state changing to
a gaseous state due to an increase in
temperature and/or pressure.
 Radiation
• Radiation is a method of heat
transfer that does not rely upon
any contact between
the heat source and the heated
object as is the case with
conduction and convection.
• Heat can be transmitted through
empty space by
thermal radiation often called
infrared radiation. This is a type of
electromagnetic radiation.
 Short & Long Wave Radiations
• Shortwave radiation (visible light)
contains a large amount of energy.
• Shortwave radiation has a shorter
wavelength than the longwave
radiation.
• Solar energy enters our atmosphere
as shortwave radiation in the form of
Ultraviolet (UV) rays and visible light.
• The sun emits shortwave radiation
because it is at a very high
temperature and therefore it can
afford to lose more energy.
• Longwave radiation (infrared light)
contains less energy than shortwave
radiation.
• Longwave radiation has a larger
wavelength than shortwave radiation.
• Once in the Earth’s atmosphere, clouds
and the surface absorb the solar
energy the ground heats up and re-
emits energy as longwave radiation in
the form of infrared rays.
• Earth emits longwave radiation
because Earth is cooler than the sun
and has less energy available to give
off.
 Radiant Heat Exchange
• A process that takes place as a result of the processes of conversion of the
internal energy of matter into radiant energy, the transfer of the radiant energy,
and its absorption by matter.
• The course of processes of radiant heat exchange is controlled by the relative
spatial position of the bodies exchanging the heat and the properties of the
medium separating the bodies.
 Choice of Materials
• Depending on the type and
degree of heat exchange
the types of materials used in
the building make a big
difference in a passive way.
• Different combinations of
materials are used to
achieve different levels of
thermal comfort which vary
for different individuals.
Thank you

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