Temperature & Temperament: A Psychologist Looks at Comfort PDF

As defined by ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, thermal comfort is “that condition of mind which expresses satisfaction with the thermal environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation.” In the discussion that follows, I address several aspects of this definition, namely, the thermal environment itself, subjective evaluation, the condition of mind—this usually being in the domain of the psychologist and includes satisfaction, acceptance, pleasantness and the plethora of other emotional responses. Much of the material that follows is based on almost 40 years of research concerning thermal comfort.