Investigation of thermal perceptions of subjects with diverse thermal histories in warm indoor environment

This paper examines the indoor environment perception of subjects having different thermal backgrounds. Two-hour-long measurements have been recorded in a test room and placed in a climate chamber. The ambient temperature was set to 30 °C and the indoor environment parameters were constant during the experiments. Adaptation by clothing adjustment or changing the metabolic activity level was not allowed. Besides the overall acceptance of the environment, subjects had to rate the thermal sensation, odour intensity, air velocity, draught, air freshness and surface temperatures. The thermal sensation was evaluated on a 7-point scale. Subjects coming from regions with warmer climates, being accustomed with air conditioning systems, preferred low indoor temperatures. However, their thermal sensation decreased in the highest rate during the 2 h of measurements. The air freshness and the air velocity were evaluated differently by the analysed groups. The future research will focus on the investigation of the relationship between the operative temperature and perceived air freshness.