Personal control in future thermal comfort standards?

Abstract

In this article 2 research questions are answered: Why should personal control be included in (future) thermal comfort standards? How could we include personal control in (future) thermal comfort standards? An abundance of studies show that offering occupants control over their indoor climate results in less health symptoms, higher comfort satisfaction rates and improved performance. Therefore it seems very logical to include the aspect personal control over indoor climate in future (thermal) comfort standards. In this paper a suggestion is presented on how to include the aspect of personal control: see table 2 and 3. The class A requirements imply that building occupants have adequate possibilities for adjustment of the thermal environment at room level. The class A+ requirements imply that occupants have good personal control at workstation level (e.g. with a personal ventilation system). More research and discussion is needed before the proposal is implemented.