USING PHYSIOLOGICAL DATA TO IMPROVE THE ACCURACY OF OUTDOOR THERMAL COMFORT EVALUATION FOR THE ELDERLY IN A HOT SUMMER AND COLD WINTER AREA OF CHINA

Elderly people in regions of China with hot summers and cold winters have significantly higher heat sensitivity than people in other regions and are ambiguous in their subjective perceptions of temperature, humidity, and solar radiation. This makes the elderly more vulnerable to the heat; consequently, when they engage in outdoor activities during the summer wearing light clothing, their diminished thermal perception increases the risk of heat stress injuries. Therefore, to more accurately evaluate the outdoor thermal comfort perception of the elderly in summer, this study used traditional field meteorological measurements, a questionnaire survey, physiological data, and machine learning prediction methods, to establish an outdoor thermal benchmark for retirement communities in hot summer and cold winter regions. Findings from the study reveal that the neutral universal thermal climate index (NUTCI) and the neutral universal thermal climate index range are 25.94°C and 22.23°C to 29.66°C respectively, and that the thermal comfort threshold is 35.39°C. It was also found that for 80% of elderly residents in the two retirement communities studied, the thermal acceptable range is from 19.41°C to 35.07°C. Using these findings as a guide, the thermal categories proposed are neutral 22.23°C to 33.08°C, slightly warm 33.08°C to 39.68°C, warm 39.68°C to 43.52°C, and hot above 43.52°C, with a preferred UTCI of 27.02°C. © 2024, College Publishing. All rights reserved.