Interpretation of thermal responses of four subject groups in transitional spaces of buildings in Bangkok

The thermal responses of building users have been investigated in a field study conducted in transitional spaces of buildings in Bangkok. Four groups of building users were identified moving either inwards or outwards between the outdoors and either air-conditioned or naturally ventilated indoor environments. Several statistical methods have been used to interpret the subjective thermal responses in three categories: expectation, sensation and preference votes. The analysis includes thermal conditions, mean responses, standardised mean responses and correlation coefficients. A mathematical method of adding values of standardised mean thermal responses is proposed to enhance the explanation of the characteristics and to categorise the optimisation of thermal comfort for each subject group. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.