Center for the Built Environment

This paper compares and contrasts methods used in laboratory studies of thermal comfort that focus on the effect of air movement. In laboratory studies, subjects typically wear standardized or similar clothing, are prescreened for healthy body temperature, are restricted in activity, and are exposed to a set of environmental variables that remain constant for a specific period of time. Three broad methodological categories are compared: experiments in which subjects have control of (1) air velocity or (2)air temperature or (3) neither. Specific experimental practices that may confound results are discussed.