In search of the comfortable indoor environment: A comparison of the utility of objective and subjective indicators of indoor comfort.
Journal article, 2007

Today, many procedures for assessing the indoor environment rely on both subjective and objective indicators (e.g. ANSI/ASHRAE 55-2004; ISO 10551). It is however unclear how these two types of measurements are related to perceived comfort. This article aims at assessing the relative utility of subjective (rating scale measures) and objective indicators of perceived comfort of indoor environments. In a hospital setting, physical environmental variables (e.g. temperature, relative humidity and noise level) were simultaneously measured as respondents (both patients and staff) rated their perception of the indoor environment. Regression analyses indicated that the subjective sensory ratings were significantly better than objective indicators at predicting overall rated indoor comfort. These results are discussed in relation to existing measurement procedures and standards.

Subjective and objective indicators

Hospital

Comfort

Indoor environment

Author

Niklas Fransson

University of Gothenburg

Daniel Västfjäll

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Applied Acoustics

Jennie Skoog

Chalmers, Energy and Environment, Building Services Engineering

Building and Environment

0360-1323 (ISSN)

Vol. 42 5 1886-1890

Subject Categories

Psychology

DOI

10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.02.021

More information

Created

10/7/2017