MODULE III

SYLLABUS

Human heat balance and Comfort: Thermal comfort factors, Physiological aspects, Body heat
balance, comfort indices, comfort range and comfort charts
(Psychrometric Chart, Bioclimatic Chart, ET and CET Nomograms).
Thermal Comfort –
“Thermal comfort is the condition of mind that expresses satisfaction with the thermal
environment and is assessed by subjective evaluation”. Definition given in ASHRAE
standard 55 (Thermal environmental conditions for human occupancy)
Thermal comfort is difficult to measure because it is highly subjective. Each individual
experience these sensations differently based on his/her physiological and psychological
conditions.
Thermal comfort depends on factors like air temperature, humidity, radiant temperature, air
velocity, metabolic rate, clothing level etc
ASHRAE –American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air conditioning Engineers-The
standards prepared by ASHRAE establishes a range of environmental conditions that are
acceptable to achieve thermal comfort for occupants
Factors affecting thermal comfort-
Thermal Comfort is highly subjective (it is very difficult to define optimum conditions) and
depends on physiological and psychological satisfaction of the occupants.
Broadly the factors can be categorised into two groups –Personal (characteristic of the
occupant) and Environmental (Condition of the thermal environment)

Personal Environmental

Metabolic rate Air temperature

Clothing level Mean radiant temperature

Air velocity

Humidity

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PERSONAL FACTORS

a) Metabolic Rate
“Level of transformation of chemical energy into heat and mechanical work by metabolic
activities within an organism usually expressed in terms of unit area of the total body
surface”…………………………..Definition given in ASHRAE 55 standards
 Varies from person to person
 Varies due to activity levels
 Varies due to environmental conditions
Unit: Met
1Met =58.2 W/sq. m
1 Met is equal to the energy produced per unit surface area of an average person seated at rest
.Surface area of an average person is 1.8 sq. m
ASHRAE 55 defines met values for different activities (refer for details)

The table below gives metabolic rate values for some of the common activities
Activity Metabolic rates
Sleeping 0.7
Seated and quiet 1
Light activities like typing 1.2 – 1.4 met
Activities involving movement >2

Some of the methods to assess metabolic rate are

 Consider the activity /state of the occupant and refer to ASHRA 55 standards for the
met values
 Calculations based on respiratory oxygen and carbon di oxide production
 Rate of heart beat of the occupants
b) Clothing Insulation
 Amount of thermal insulation worn by a person influences thermal comfort
 Layers of insulating clothing prevents heat loss and can either help keep the person
warm or lead to overheating
 Generally thicker the garment, greater the insulating ability
 Type of the material also influence its insulating capacity
Unit: Clo

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 1 Clo = 0.155 sq. m K/W
This is the amount of insulation that allows a person at rest wearing a normal business
suit(Trousers, long sleeved shirt ,Jacket and under wear) to maintain thermal equilibrium
in an environment at 21°C (70°F) in a normally ventilated room (0.1 m/s air movement).
Above this temperature the person so dressed will sweat, whereas below this temperature
the person will feel cold
ASHRAE 55 defines clo values for different combinations of clothing (refer for details)
The table below gives clo values of 3 of the common combinations
Dress Clo Value
Trousers ,short sleeved shirt 0.57
Knee length skirt, long sleeve shirt, full slip 0.67
Sweat pant, long sleeved sweat shirt 0.74

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
When considering the environmental parameters it is important to remember that man does
not feel the temperature inside the room but the energy loss from his body
c) Air Temperature
Average temperature of the air surrounding the occupant with respect to location and time”
To find out average temperature of a space ASHRAE specifies a method – Take air
temperature near to the angle, waist and head of the occupants, at 3 minutes interval for 18
times .Average is computed from these values.
d) Mean Radiant Temperature
Heat exchange by radiation happens inside all spaces. For example in your class room
different surfaces are there-walls, furniture, black board, false ceiling etc.
Heat exchange happens between these surfaces. Each material possess different heat
absorbing/emitting ability. The angle between the person and the surface also influence the
amount of heat gain or loss. The calculation of MRT is time consuming and complex
e) Air Speed
“Rate of air movement at a point without regard to direction”
ASHRAE defines this as “the average speed of the air to which the body is exposed with
respect to location and time”
f) Relative Humidity
“Ratio of amount of water vapour present in the air to the amount of water vapour that the air
can hold at a specific temperature and pressure”

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High Relative Humidity means air already holds the maximum vapour which it can hold and
hence evaporative heat loss and sweating decreases
Very low Relative Humidity means the environment holds less water vapour i.e. the air is dry
.This may affect the mucous membrane of the skin of the occupants
Recommended level of indoor humidity is in the range of 30-60% in air conditioned
buildings.
Some other factors which influence thermal comfort are
 Acclimatization-Exposed to a new set of climatic conditions, the human body will
reach full adjustment in about 30 [Link] that time the thermal preference of the
individual will change. For e.g. a person living in London may prefer 15 degrees but
in India 25 degrees might be perfectly fine
 Age and Sex-Metabolism of older people is slow and hence they prefer higher
temperature. Women have lower metabolic rate compared to men and hence the
preference can differ
 Body shape- Surface to Volume ratio – Heat dissipation depends on body surface
area. A tall and skinny person has large surface to volume ratio and can dissipate heat
more easily .So skinny people can tolerate higher temperature)
 Subcutaneous fat – fat under the skin, known as subcutaneous fat is an excellent
thermal insulator. So fatter people can stand cold more
 State of Health –Metabolic rate may increase due to illness
 Skin colour – lighter skin reflects heat more

Body heat balance and physiological aspects related to the same

 Heat is continuously produced in the body.
 Most of the biochemical processes in the body are exothermic i.e. heat producing. e.g.
tissue building ,muscular work etc
 Energy and material requirement for these bio chemical processes comes from the
food we eat
 Metabolism can be defined as the process of converting food into living
matter ,mechanical work and heat (refer defn for metabolic rate already given)
 Of all the energy produced in the body only 20% is utilised.80% is surplus and gets
dissipated into the atmosphere as heat energy
Activity Heat Produced in watts

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 1 Sleeping Min 70
2 Sitting/Moderate movement 130-160
3 Standing/Light work 160-190
4 Walking 290-410
5 Maximum heavy work for 30 mins Max 1500 watts

 Deep body temperature must remain balanced and constant at around 37 degree
Celsius. So surplus heat should be dissipated
 Heat gained by the body – through Metabolism ,Conduction ,Convection and
Radiation
 Heat Lost by the body– through Perspiration(evaporation),Conduction, Convection
and Radiation

 Thermal Balance exist when

Met-Evp +/- Cnd +/- Cnv +/- Rad = 0
 As soon as the sum falls above zero vasomotor adjustments takes place and the blood
circulation to the skin surface is increased, more heat is transported to the surface and
skin temperature gets elevated. By this way heat loss process gets accelerated
 When the sum falls below zero blood circulation to the skin decreases, skin
temperature is lowered and heat loss process gets slowed down
 If vasomotor regulation is insufficient and overheating continues sweating will start.
Rate of sweating may vary from 20g/h to 3kg/h during periods of intense physical
effort combined with hot environmental conditions.

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  If in cold environment , underheating continues in spite of vasomotor adjustments,
violent shivering may occur, which can cause a tenfold increase in metabolic heat
production for a short period of time
 Long term exposure and adjustments lead to acclimatization process. This will
involve change in metabolic heat production, increase in quantity of blood, increased
sweat rate etc.

THERMAL COMFORT INDICES

To assess human body’s heat dissipation process multiple variables have to be
handled simultaneously. Many attempts were made to discuss a single scale which
combines the effect of all these factors. Such scales are known as thermal comfort
indices
In most of these experiments a set of indoor climatic conditions are generated inside
specially designed rooms and occupants are asked to record their reactions. The
answers are then evaluated statistically and scales devised based on this data
I. Effective Temperature Scale
 Produced by Houghton and Yaglou in 1923 while they were working at American
Society of Heating and Ventilating Engineers
 Effective Temperature is defined as ”the temperature of a still saturated atmosphere
which would in the absence of radiation produce the same effect as the atmosphere in
question”
So the conditions laid down in the definition are

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 1. Saturated air i.e. 100% humidity
2. Absence of radiation- Mean radiant temperature not considered
3. Still air-No air movement
 Effective temperature scale considers all major factors related to comfort
 It is the most commonly used scale and is simple and easy to use
 Demerits are
1. it over estimates the effect of humidity when the environmental condition is
cool and comfortable
2. Underestimates the effect of humidity at high temperatures
3. Degree of discomfort is not directly given

II. Corrected Effective Temperature Scale

Effective temperature scale does not make any allowance for radiation heat exchange
between the body and the environment
In Corrected Effective Temperature scale dry bulb temperature is replaced by mean radiant
temperature
ET and CET are valid only for people wearing normal light indoor clothes

Mean Radiant Temperature

If all the surfaces in an environment (say a room) were uniformly at a particular temperature
which would produce the same net radiant heat balance as the environment under
consideration with its various surfaces ,then that temperature will be the mean radiant
temperature of the environment under consideration
MRT can be measured with a globe thermometer (Mercury thermometer enclosed in a matt
black painted copper globe of 150 mm diameter. The globe will have an inertia of 15 mins
after which it will show globe thermometer reading which will be a combination of air
temperature and the received and emitted radiations inside the considered environment
For e.g. If air is warm and wall surfaces are cold some radiation will be emitted from the
globe and the reading will be below air temperature

Measuring CET /ET steps-

1. Measure globe thermometer readings/Dry bulb thermometer reading
2. Measure Wet bulb thermometer reading
3. Measure air velocity using anemometer or kata thermometer(in case of low velocity)

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 4. Locate GT/DBT on left hand side vertical scale of the Nomogram
5. Locate WBT on the right hand side vertical scale
6. Connect the two points using a line
7. Measure air velocity using anemometer/kata thermometer and select the appropriate
air velocity curve
8. Mark the point where the velocity curve intersect the line drawn
9. Read off the value of the short inclined line going through the same point. This will
give the ET/CET value

III. Fanger’s Model

Fanger's model of thermal comfort is a scientifically established method for predicting how
groups of people perceive thermal environments, mainly through the Predicted Mean Vote
(PMV) and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) indices.
Fanger's model, developed in the late 1960s by P.O. Fanger, is grounded in climate chamber
experiments and an energy balance analysis of the human body. It considers heat generated
and lost by the body through mechanisms like convection, radiation, sweat evaporation, and
respiration. The model calculates comfort based on six main variables:
1. Air temperature
2. Radiant temperature
3. Air velocity
4. Relative humidity
5. Clothing insulation
6. Metabolic activity (activity level)
PMV (Predicted Mean Vote): Represents the average thermal sensation vote of a large
group on a scale from –3 (cold) to +3 (hot), with 0 being [Link] PMV
equation estimates, for a given set of environmental and personal conditions, the average
thermal sensation expected in a group of occupants, representing overall subjective comfort
or discomfort.
PPD (Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied): Estimates the proportion of people likely to
feel uncomfortable in a given environment, derived from the PMV value
Fanger’s model is widely adopted in international standards like ASHRAE 55 and ISO 7730
to define thermal comfort zones for buildings. The model is especially accurate in air-

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conditioned spaces but has limitations in naturally ventilated environments due to variable
human adaptation and difficulty estimating personal variables like clothing and activity level.
The relationship between PMV and PPD is nonlinear: at PMV = 0, roughly 5% of people are
still predicted to be dissatisfied, and this percentage rises sharply as PMV deviates from zero
in either direction
In summary, PMV is a predictive index of a group's average thermal sensation, and PPD
expresses the proportion of individuals likely to feel uncomfortably warm or cool under
specific conditions, forming an essential part of modern thermal comfort theory and practice
THERMAL COMFORT CHARTS
I. Bioclimatic Chart
A Graphical preliminary analysis tool to analyse climatic data and decide on appropriate
strategies developed by Victor Olgyay

For this the monthly statistical data for temperature and humidity is collected. Two points are
plotted for each month. The first point is plotted to indicate the minimum temperature and
maximum relative humidity. The second point is plotted to indicate maximum temperature
and minimum relative humidity. These two points are joined using a line. For each month a
different colour is used to plot the lines

The chart indicates a

comfort zone where no
strategy is required to
achieve occupant comfort.
If the lines passes through
this zone designer need not
use any special strategy.
Depending upon the region
of the graph through which
the line passes, appropriate
strategies can be adopted

II. Psychrometric Chart

 Psychrometry is the study of the properties of atmospheric air (a mixture of many
gases, water vapour and a no. of pollutants)

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  A psychrometric chart graphically represents the thermodynamic properties of
atmospheric air
 It is used in the fields of architecture ,air conditioner engineering ,agricultural and
aeronautical engineering, food engineering, drying of crops, grains, and
pharmaceuticals, dehydration, dehumidification, humidification, moisture control,
meteorology, and weather reporting.
 Uses for Architects- It helps to determine the proper air conditioning equipment; It
helps to determine the environmental conditions that affect human comfort; It helps to
understand the regional climatic context, issues related to occupant comfort and
formulate climate sensitive architecture
 A standard psychrometric chart contains dry bulb temperature on the horizontal axis
and humidity ratio(kg of moisture per kg of air) on the vertical axis Curved lines on
the chart indicate the relative humidity ,the outer most curved line showing 100%
humidity

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  Measurable psychrometric properties include DBT ,WBT, Dew point temperature,
Relative humidity, Barometric pressure, Specific volume, Enthalpy, Humidity ratio,
Water vapour pressure etc. The versatility of the chart lies in the fact that knowing
any two of the properties we can find all the other properties
 The figure given below shows a psychrometric chart with the comfort zone marked.
As strategies like natural ventilation are adequately provided the comfort zone also
increases. So architects can by trial and error method and experimentation find out the
combination of strategies that can effectively retain a built environment in comfort
zone throughout the year

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