Examining Thermal Comfort Levels and Physical Performance in Malaysian Settings: A Simulation Chamber Experiment

Abstract

Thermal comfort refers to a situation where human feels satisfied with the environment's temperature. There is no absolute thermal comfort level that applies to all human, since it is a subjective situation that differ from one person to another. This study's objective is to identify Malaysian thermal comfort level and physical performances under simulation chamber experiment settings. Three young and healthy males with no medical issues were chosen as study respondents. There were four settings in this study; (i) 25°C with 70 RH, (ii) 34°C with 92% RH, (iii) 34°C with 74% RH and (v) 38°C with 83% RH . Respondents were required to imitate construction workers lifting task under the four environment settings. This study findings show a noticeable association between an increase in temperature towards heart rate level. As the temperature rises up, respondents mean and peak HR level also rises. Significant mean and peak HR were identified at 38°C for all respondents. In addition, respondents become fatigue and sluggish much faster at 38°C compared to 25°C and 34°C. The most notable decline in physical abilities was identified for Respondent A under 38°C setting. One possible reason for this situation is that respondent A Body Mass Index (BMI) is much higher than the two other respondents.