What is thermal comfort?

Thermal comfort is a concept that is bound to the individual's satisfaction with its inner environment. To make you feel thermal comfort, you must not be too cold or too hot. Because this type of comfort can be influenced by internal and external factors, not every person will be comfortable in the same environment. The three main external factors are humidity levels, air temperature and air movements. These factors are often carefully monitored in the working environment because employees are usually more productive if they are not too hot or cold. Internal factors such as metabolism and age can contribute to individual thermal sensitivity and gender differences have also been recorded. In some cases, there may also be a psychological component. The amount and type of clothing that one has to carry, because someone who wears heavy clothes in the internal environment will tend to be warmer than another person who is wearing light clothes.

Employers often try to provide the level of thermal comfort that is likely to satisfy the largest number of people. To achieve this, different heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems can be used. The three external factors that can be controlled in this way are temperature, humidity levels and air circulation. The temperature is the basic factor of thermal comfort, although it can be significantly affected by humidity and air speed.

Any movement of air in the internal environment is usually necessary, although an excessive level can cause the room to feel colder than it is. The internal air speed higher than 0.25 meters per second (50 feet per minute) can also be a distraction for workers. High humidity can make people feel uncomfortable and often leads to a nitrous area, but low levels of moisture can cause respiratory problems. All these factors must be balanced to provide the largest amount of comfort for most people.

In addition to human employees, many of these concepts were also applied to livestock. Thermal comfort in animals can affect productivity and studies have shown to reduce certain biological functions in the presence of extreme temperatures. In particular, sheep showed reduced ability to spend food when they are in a state of thermal discomfort, so that the solution to this problem can lead to a higher yield.