PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine differences between thermal insulation calculated by a global and a serial method using a thermal manikin, in comparison with human trials.Design/methodology/approachA total of 150 single garments and 38 clothing ensembles were assessed using the manikin; 26 seasonal clothing ensembles were selected for human trials.FindingsThe results showed that total insulation of single garments was 16 percent higher in the serial method than in the global method. The difference was higher in garments with smaller covering area per unit garment mass (e.g. winter garments). For seasonal clothing ensembles, the serial values were 39.2 percent (0.18 clo) for spring/fall wear, 62.6 percent (0.15 clo) for summer wear and for winter wear 64.8 percent (0.69 clo) greater than the global values. The clothing insulation by the global method was systemically lower in all 26 seasonal ensembles than values by human trials, which suggests that the values by the global calculation can be more accurately corrected with human testing data.Originality/valueThe paper shows that values by the serial calculation were lower in spring/fall and summer ensembles but greater in winter garments than values collated by human trials. It suggests that the serial values had a lower validity when compared with thermal insulation values collated from human trials.

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