Chapter-01 E.S.

S-IV

What is Human Comfort ?

“Our interface to this world is through our senses of touch, sight , hearing
,smell and taste and that state in which all of these senses are in a state of
physical ease…… we feel comfortable!”
Weather we are working or sleeping
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV
What is the relation between building or space and Human Comfort ?

“Buildings or spaces within a building are designed for people and those people are trying to
accomplish a task –whether it’s raising a family , running an office or manufacturing a product.
The building & spaces within needs to keep people comfortable , efficient , healthy and safe as
they set about their task.
After all designing better is not only about avoiding problems but also about creating positively
pleasurable and healthy living and working spaces….”
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV

Different aspects of Human Comfort…..

One of the most important considerations when designing a building is the
extent to which it provides an environment that is comfortable for its occupants.

Different aspects of comfort may include;

Personal factors , Health and well being, Thermal comfort, Indoor air quality, Visual comfort,
Noise nuisance , Ergonomics, and so on…..

Comfort in the built environment is affected by a great number of different factors which can, if
not addressed properly, can lead to discomfort, or can even cause harm and ill health to
occupants.
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV
Learning of HVAC services allows to focus on ‘Thermal Comfort’ only!

Different aspects of Human Comfort…..Thermal Comfort..

What is …..Thermal Comfort?

Thermal Comfort can be defined as that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with
the environment…..i.e. the condition when someone is not feeling either too hot or too cold.
Chapter-01 Thermal Comfort E.S.S-IV
What is …………………….Thermal Comfort?

Thermal comfort is rated amongst the most important conditions for improving comfort and satisfaction of occupants
with their indoor environment, based on a review of various studies.

The comfortable human thermal environment is not straight forward and cannot be expressed in degrees. Nor
can it be satisfactorily defined by acceptable temperature ranges. It is a personal experience dependent on a
great number of criteria and can be different from one person to another within the same space.
For example, a person walking up stairs in a cold environment wearing a coat might feel too hot,
while someone sat still in a shirt in the same environment might feel too cold.
The Health and Safety standards suggest that an environment can be said to achieve 'reasonable
comfort' when at least 80% of its occupants are thermally comfortable. This means that thermal comfort
can be assessed by surveying occupants to find out whether they are dissatisfied with their thermal
environment.
Chapter-01 Significance of …..Thermal Comfort.. E.S.S-IV

In building science studies, thermal comfort has been

related to productivity and health. Office workers who are
satisfied with their thermal environment are more
productive.

HVAC Services in Buildings modify the conditions of the external

environment and reduce the effort that our body needs to do in order to
stay stable at a normal human body temperature, important for the
correct functioning of our physiological processes.
Satisfaction with the thermal environment is important because thermal conditions are potentially life-
threatening for humans if the core body temperature reaches conditions of hyperthermia, above 37.5–38.3
°C or hypothermia below 35.0 °C
Chapter-01 Thermal Comfort.. E.S.S-IV
How Human body behaves !

37°C

Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the surrounding environment .
The human body can be viewed as a heat engine where food is the input energy. The human body will
generate excess heat into the environment, at different metabolic rates while performing different
functions. The heat transfer is proportional to temperature difference. In cold environments, the body
loses more heat to the environment and in hot environments the body does not exert enough heat.
Chapter-01 Thermal Comfort.. E.S.S-IV
Factors influencing thermal comfort

Environmental factors Personal factors

Thermal comfort results from a combination of environmental
factors and personal factors:

Air temperature. Clothing.

The temperature of the air that a person is in contact with.
Air velocity.
The velocity of the air that a person is in contact with (measured in
m/s). The faster the air is moving, the greater the exchange of heat
between the person and the air.
. Metabolic heat.
Radiant temperature.
The temperature of a persons surroundings (including surfaces, heat
generating equipment, the sun and the sky). This is generally expressed
as mean radiant temperature (MRT, a weighted average of the
temperature of the surfaces surrounding a person) and any strong
mono-directional radiation such as radiation from the sun.
Relative humidity (RH).
The ratio between the actual amount of water vapour in the air and the
maximum amount of water vapour that the air can hold at that air
temperature, expressed as a percentage. The higher the relative
humidity, the more difficult it is to lose heat through the evaporation of
sweat.
Clothes insulate a person from exchanging heat with the surrounding
air and surfaces as well as affecting the loss of heat through the
evaporation of sweat. Clothing can be directly controlled by a person
(i.e. they can take off or put on a jacket) whereas environmental
factors may be beyond their control.
The heat we produce through physical activity. A stationary person
will tend to feel cooler than a person who is exercising.
Wellbeing and sicknesses.
The state of health of the person also affects the heat that they give
off and the temperature of the room, a person who is sick or has an
illness gives off less heat that a person who is physically healthy .
Other contributing factors can include Psychological parameters
Gender.
Gender is also a factor that affects the temperature given off by
people, females give off less heat than males, and they give off 85%
of what the male body gives off.
Age.- The age of a person greatly affects the comfort levels; older
people give off less heat then younger people.
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV
There are a great number of
techniques for estimating likely
thermal comfort, including;
effective temperature, equivalent
temperature, Wet Bulb Globe
Temperature (WBGT), resultant Predicting Thermal Comfort….
temperature and so on, and charts
exist showing predicted comfort
.zones within ranges of conditions.

However it is suggested that

thermal comfort can be expressed
in terms of Predicted Mean Vote
(PMV) and Percentage People
Dissatisfied (PPD).
PMV and PPD were developed by
Professor Ole Fanger based on
research undertaken at Kansas
State University and the Technical .
University of Denmark. Research
was carried out to find out if
people felt comfortable in
different conditions and this was
used to develop equations that
would predict comfort. The
equations take into account; air
temperature, mean radiant
temperature, air movement,
humidity, clothing and activity
level.
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV

I am Comfortable …
Maintaining a basic standard of thermal
comfort for occupants of buildings or other
enclosures is one of the important goals of
HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning) design engineers.

Most people will feel comfortable at room

temperature, ranging around 20 to 22 °C
with relative humidity levels between 30-
60% but this may vary greatly between .
individuals and depending on factors such as
activity level, clothing, gender ,age ,
wellbeing and sickness etc.
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV
Human Comfort is directly linked with quality of air.

We all breathe air to live and if it is polluted or carries airborne diseases we can fall ill as a result. Airborne
hazards such as carbon monoxide or longer-term indoor threats like radon release are sometimes a
problem but the toxic fine combustion particles mainly from traffic emissions and some power stations
are the major health risk to the public at large.
Even through various measures and techniques if you have controlled temperature, moisture, and air
velocity but not the AIR QUALITY .. Then all the other measures fail because you will not be comfortable
in a polluted indoor environment thus understanding and controlling common pollutants indoors can help
reduce your risk of indoor health concerns.
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV
Indoor Air Pollution and Health
It is important to try to improve the indoor air
quality in your home even if symptoms are not
noticeable.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) refers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as
it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Understanding and controlling common
pollutants indoors can help reduce your risk of indoor health concerns.
Health effects from indoor air pollutants may be experienced soon after exposure or, possibly, years later.
Immediate Effects
Some health effects may show up shortly after a single exposure or repeated exposures to a pollutant. These
include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Such immediate effects are
usually short-term and treatable.
Long-Term Effects
Other health effects may show up either years after exposure has occurred or only after long or repeated
periods of exposure. These effects, which include some respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer, can
be severely debilitating or fatal.
Chapter-01 E.S.S-IV
Human Comfort ……