Center for the Built Environment

Thirty female and 30 male college students, who had naturally acclimatized to hot-humid climate, were exposed to seven temperature/humidity combinations in a climate chamber, and they were surveyed all year long at their classrooms and dormitories. They dressed in 0.5 clo in the chamber tests, while their subjective and physiological responses were collected. In the field study the subjects were surveyed while the thermal parameters around their body were measured. Results show no significant differences in thermal sensitivity to temperature changes or in neutral temperatures, based on our chamber and field studies with the same group of subjects. Both genders were equally satisfied with temperatures, although females tended to be more dissatisfied in cool temperatures, and males tended to be more dissatisfied in warm temperatures in the chamber tests; however the differences disappeared when they can adjust their clothing in the field.