To have thermal comfort, means that a

person wearing a normal amount of

clothing feels neither too cold nor too
warm.

Air Movement
When there is virtually no air movement with
relative humidity of 50%, the ambient
temperature becomes critical for
maintaining thermal comfort.

Thermal Comfort

Meaning of Thermal Comfort

Thermal Comfort

Comfort Zone
Such comfort is important both for ones
well being and productivity but can only be
achieved within the specified range of the
temperature, humidity, and air movement.
These are referred to as the comfort zone.

Too Warm Too Cold

Normally it would be fair to say too warm
makes people feel tired more easily.
But too cold would cause peoples attention
to drift (hard to concentrate), making them
restless and easily distracted.
Higher humidity would cause the working
area to feel stuffy which could contribute
to bacterial growth(especially in a sealed
building).

Thermal Comfort

Richard Tan
Human Factors Engineering
Faculty of Engineering

Thermal Comfort

Man has always strive to create a thermally

comfortable environment.
This is reflected all over the world and is still
one of the important parameters in the
design of buildings and automobiles today.

Thermal Comfort

Thermal Comfort

This thus indicates that it is impossible to

determine an acceptable level of thermal
comfort for everyone.

The response of an individual with relation to

the climatic factors and effect of the level
of activity, metabolism, personal health,
medication, alcohol consumption,
suitability of clothing, level of
acclimatization, level and length of
exposure to the adverse conditions.

Body Temperature Regulatory

System
Human has a very effective body temperature
regulatory system that ensures the bodys
temperature is kept at approximately 37C.
When we feel cold, the body can either
reduce more blood flowing through the
skin or cause the body to shiver by
increasing the heat production of the
muscle.

Thermal Comfort
Thermal Comfort

Variables associated with thermal

comfort:
Air temperature
Radiant temperature
Relative humidity
Air velocity
Activity
Clothing

Thermal Comfort

Thermal comfort can be achieved by many

different combinations of the above
variables and the effect of any of these
factors should not be considered
independently as the effects of each of
them depends on the level and conditions
of the other factors.

Thermal Comfort

Humidity- amount of moisture in the air

Thermal Comfort

High humidity makes people feel stuffy but

low humidity (lower than 50%) can cause
discomfort by drying out the mucous
membranes, contribute to skin rashes, and
also problems with ESD (electrostatic
discharge).

Thermal Comfort

Humidity

Body Temperature Regulatory

System
The brains interpretation of the impulses can
be assumed like a tug of war, with the cold
impulses at one end of the rope and warm
impulses at the other.
If both sides achieve the same magnitude,
thermal neutrality would be achieved.

Body Temperature Regulatory

System
To achieve thermal neutrality, our body will
send impulses to the brain to tell our body
what to do i.e. whether our body is too hot
or too cold and react to it.

Body Temperature Regulatory

System
Sex, Age, Race, and people of different
origin react differently to the climate
change and thus to the difference in
thermal adaptability.
This means that how their body react to
achieve thermal comfort is different form
one another e.g. compare an Eskimo to a
person living in the desert.

Thermal Comfort

Thermal Comfort

But if the environment is comfortable

enough, i.e. that a the condition is
considered to be in neutral thermal
condition, not too cold and not too warm,
the combination of the skin temperature
and the bodys core temperature.

Thermal Comfort

Another requirement to have reach thermal

neutrality is to have energy balance in
terms of metabolism, i.e. heat produced by
the body must and should be equal to the
heat lost by the body.

Body Temperature Regulatory

System

Thermal Comfort

Body Temperature Regulatory

System

Thermal Comfort

When the body becomes too warm, two

processes are initiated.
Increasing the blood flow through the skin
and subsequently one begins to sweat.
Sweating is an effective cooling tool,
because energy is required during
evaporation of the sweat.

Thermal Comfort

Body Temperature Regulatory

System

The effects of cold in extreme case normally

occurs in temperature between 1C and
10C which causes hypothermia and also
slow down the reaction of a normal
working person.
Frostbite normally occurs during
overexposure to temperature well below
freezing and is the result of actual freezing
of the tissues in the affected area of the
body.

Thermal Comfort

Effect of Heat

Thermal Comfort

Effect of Cold

The effect of cold on an individual worker

will vary according to the clothing they
wear, the fitness of their health, their
individual metabolism, and their level of
acclimatization to the prevailing
temperatures, as well as the work being
performed.

The effect of can range from:

Heat Cramp - muscle spasms resulting
from profuse sweating without restoring of
bodys salt/water balance.
Heat exhaustion dehydration following
profuse sweating cause clammy, moist
skin, weakness and fatigue, nausea,
vomiting, headache, and giddiness.
Fainting may occur due to lack of blood
flow to the brain.

Thermal Comfort

All these goes back to the ability of that

particular persons ability or capacity to
loose heat in a hot condition or maintain
body temperatures in a cold situation.
The basic factor of humidity, air movement,
and radiant heat also plays important role
in this.

Effect of Cold

Thermal Comfort

Body Temperature Regulatory

System

Heat Stroke hot, dry skin, rapidly rising

body temperature, collapse, loss of
consciousness, convulsions.

Thermal Comfort

Effect of Heat