Evaluating the performance of thermal sensation prediction with a biophysical model

Abstract

Neutral thermal sensation is expected for a human body in heat balance in nearsteady-state thermal environments. The physiological thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is defined as the range of operative temperatures where the body can maintain such heat balance by actively adjusting body tissue insulation, but without regulatory increases in metabolic rate or sweating. These basic principles led to the hypothesis that thermal sensation relates to the operative temperature distance from the thermoneutral centroid (dTNZ op ). This hypothesis was confirmed by data from respiratory climate chamber experiments. This paper explores the potential of such biophysical model for the prediction of thermal sensation under increased contextual variance. Data (798 votes, 47 participants) from a controlled office environment were used to analyze the predictive performance of the dTNZ op model. The results showed a similar relationship between dTNZ op and thermal sensation between the dataset used here and the previously used dataset. The predictive performance had the same magnitude as that of the PMV model; however, potential benefits of using a biophysical model are discussed. In conclusion, these findings confirm the potential of the biophysical model with regard to the understanding and prediction of human thermal sensation. Further work remains to make benefit of its full potential. K E Y W O R D Sbiophysical model, indoor temperature, performance evaluation, prediction, thermal comfort, thermal sensation

Drivers of diversity in human thermal perception – A review for holistic comfort models

“…Descriptors for the thermal comfort votes are 1 "much too cool", 2 "too cool", 3 "comfortably cool", 4 "comfortable", 5 "comfortably warm", 6 "too warm", and 7 "much too warm". [11], newPMV (nPMV) [12], adaptive thermal heat balance (ATHB) model [13,14]), thermoneutral zone (TNZ) and distance to TNZ (dTNZ) [15,16]) • Adaptive comfort models based on regression analysis (e.g. [3,[17][18][19]]) • Thermophysiological models (e.g.…”

“…without regulatory changes in metabolic heat production or evaporative heat loss". Previous research suggests that the distance (dTNZ op ) of the actual (measured) operative temperature (T op ) to the operative temperature in the center of the TNZ (T op centroid ) (see Figure 3) is related to the thermal sensation vote [16,53].…”