Effect of short-term thermal history on thermal comfort and physiological responses: A pilot study

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of outdoor short-term thermal history on the thermal comfort and physiological responses of human in the indoor environment. We conducted a field study in 4 split air-conditioned dormitory buildings. A total of 345 valid datasets were collected from 62 participants. We investigated thermal comfort, physiological responses and adaptation behaviours. According to the indoor staying time, we clarified the participants into two groups, namely STN30 (indoor staying time less than 30 min) and ST30 (indoor staying time more than 30 min). We compared the thermal comfort responses and physiological responses between two indoor staying time groups. We determined the relationship between thermal sensation and physiological responses. Subjects had a higher percentage of warmer thermal sensation, thermal discomfort and cooler preference in STN30 than in ST30. The upper extremity skin temperature was highly correlated to operative temperature and was consistent in both ST30 and STN 30 groups under the same operative temperature. Participants with shorter indoor staying time had lower neutral temperature (1.1 °C) and lower preferred temperature. The upper extremity skin temperatures were significantly correlated to thermal sensation.