Thermal Comfort Research

This website is a free and full support for analyzing the thermal comfort data of occupants in Thermal Comport Research Project. Thermal comfort of building occupants is a major criterion in evaluating the performance of building systems. It is also a dominant factor in designing and optimizing building’s operation. However, existing thermal comfort models rely on factors that require bulky and expensive equipment to measure. This project attempts to take a radically different approach towards measuring the thermal comfort of building occupants by leveraging the ever-increasing capacity and capability of mobile and wearable devices. This research evaluates such opportunities by fusing traditional environmental sensing data streams with newly available wearable sensing information. Furthermore, it identifies challenges for using existing wearable devices and to developing new models to predict human thermal comfort. Findings from this exploratory study identify the inaccuracy of sensors in cellphones and wearable as a challenge, yet one which can be improved using customized wearables.