Thermal Comfort Parameters
IAQ has acted in the market for the last 10 years helping you determine the best conditions for your home and commercial building ensuring the safety and comfort of all its occupants. Among the several parameters analyzed by IAQ, thermal comfort stands as one of the simplest and directly addressed factors that can affect directly the well-being of those in the building. In general, indoor air temperature should be kept between 20-23.5 oC to ensure the comfort of its occupants, but these values can change according to the season, humidity and other variables that influence how we interact with the temperature of our surroundings.
What determines Thermal Comfort?
As the human body interacts with its environment, it exchanges heat by either transpiration or other physiological responses that seek to either heat or cool down the body. Mostly, when exposed to a “hot” environment, the body seeks to maintain its temperature within a comfortable range by transpiration, which leads to a loss in water and temperature from the body to the surroundings. On the other hand, when exposed to cold environments, the body will slow down its normal circulation seeking to save energy and in extreme cases will lead to what is known as hypothermia.
Both dehydration and hypothermia can happen in cases of poor thermal comfort and although extreme, these conditions can be felt mildly in commercial buildings or homes due to poor thermal management. Long-term exposure to ambient that is overheated or extremely cold might expose the immune system to stressful reactions which can debilitate the individual causing headaches, nausea, dizziness, fevers and so on.
Both dehydration and hypothermia can happen in cases of poor thermal comfort and although extreme, these conditions can be felt mildly in commercial buildings or homes due to poor thermal management. Long-term exposure to ambient that is overheated or extremely cold might expose the immune system to stressful reactions which can debilitate the individual causing headaches, nausea, dizziness, fevers and so on.
How can I control thermal comfort?
Thermal comfort can be altered by simple procedures such as allowing for natural ventilation (or not), in this case opening or closing windows, for example. As buildings tend to accumulate air due to the lack of circulation inside the construction, opening windows can allow for both the cooling and heating up of the building depending on the external temperature.
Additionally, as commonly seen nowadays, buildings have been equipped with commercial devices that allow for artificial cooling and heating through systems of air conditioning and heaters. These devices function in a variety of ways and when dimensioned adequately will provide the best balance between temperature control and energy consumption.
Through complex mechanisms of cooling and heating processes, these devices mostly convert electrical energy, into heating/cooling systems that alter the ambient temperature through convection. Overall, the devices help in keeping the temperature to a controlled value by constantly monitoring the ambient temperature with thermostats.
Additionally, humidity plays an important role as it affects body interaction with the environment. Understood as the amount of water found suspended in the air, humidity affects the body as it creates a moisturized surface leading to an increased energy demand for body regulation. Hence, when the humidity is high, the body expends more energy to keep itself within a comfortable temperature range, which increases transpiration creating a sticky and moist feeling. On the other hand, when the humidity is low, the body will have fewer problems regulating its temperature and cools down easier, feeling thermal comfort easier.
As a result, the same individual will feel more comfortable in an ambient that presents less humidity and allow for better body temperature regulation. In these conditions, thermal comfort is sustained even at higher temperatures. On the contrary, individuals will feel more uncomfortable when humidity is high, demanding lower ambient temperatures for proper body functioning. In this case, dehumidifiers or humidifier controllers are available in the market to help balance this variable inside closed buildings. In general, thermal comfort is reached with humidity set between 40-60%, being advisable to not go above or below these values due to the risk of drying out internal airways or promoting the growth of fungus, respectively.
What are the main health issues related to thermal comfort?
Thermal comfort has been linked to several diseases being mostly analyzed by having temperatures that are above the comfort area or below thermal comfort. With temperatures below thermal comfort the increase in flu incidence, difficulty in sleeping, triggering arthritis pain and other hear disease by causing swelling of soft tissues and increase in blood pressure. On the other hand, temperatures above thermal comfort are recognized for promoting excessive transpiration, bad odor, difficulty to concentrate, dehydration, headaches and other issues related to dehydration.
How can IAQ help?
IAQ has made a goal to ensure the indoor air quality of your home and commercial building by keeping a close eye to all variables that might affect the safety and comfort of its occupants. In analyzing thermal comfort, IAQ is equipped with thermometers and humidity sensors that are able to detect and assess all areas individually providing a final detailed report of the thermal conditions of your building. Additionally, equipped with monitoring devices, IAQ is able to locate the problematic areas, suggesting solutions for the poor thermal comfort found and highlighting the possible problems that might have arisen within these spaces.
Poor thermal comfort is capable of affecting both human occupants as well as the infrastructure of the building itself. IAQ is thus able to identify cases of mold infestation, commonly associated with poor humidity control, alongside with detecting points of infrastructure problems and crackings identifying leaking areas and so on. With a qualified team and years of experience, IAQ is committed to providing a detailed analysis of your building and ensuring that the safety of your family and employee is secured inside the building.
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