title: 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 near-steady-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 (dTNZop). 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 dTNZopmodel. The results showed a similar relationship between dTNZopand 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.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Architecture, Building Science Group, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.|Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3906-4688
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schweiker
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biology, NUTRIM School of Nutrition and Translational Research in Metabolism of Maastricht University Medical Centre+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.|Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: B R M
authors.initials: BRM
authors.lastname: Kingma
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Architecture, Building Science Group, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002980:Climate; D004780:Environment, Controlled; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D013696:Temperature; D013697:Thermosensing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: biophysical model; indoor temperature; performance evaluation; prediction; thermal comfort; thermal sensation