Local thermal sensation modeling: a review on the necessity and availability of local clothing properties and local metabolic heat production

Local thermal sensation modelling gained importance due to developments in personalized and locally applied heating and cooling systems in office environments. The accuracy of these models depends on skin temperature prediction by thermophysiological models, which in turn rely on accurate environmental and personal input data. Environmental parameters are measured or prescribed, but personal factors such as clothing properties and metabolic rates have to be estimated. Data for estimating the overall values of clothing properties and metabolic rates are available in several papers and standards. However, local values are more difficult to retrieve. For local clothing, this paper revealed that full and consistent data sets are not available in the published literature for typical office clothing sets. Furthermore, the values for local heat production were not verified for characteristic office activities, but were adapted empirically. Further analyses showed that variations in input parameters can lead to local skin temperature differences (∆Tskin,loc=0.4 – 4.4ºC). These differences can affect the local sensation output, where ∆Tskin,loc=1ºC is approximately one step on a 9-point thermal sensation scale. In conclusion, future research should include a systematic study of local clothing properties and the development of feasible methods for measuring and validating local heat production. Local thermal sensation modelling gained importance due to developments in personalized and locally applied heating and cooling systems in office environments. The accuracy of these models depends on skin temperature prediction by thermophysiological models, which in turn rely on accurate environmental and personal input data. Environmental parameters are measured or prescribed, but personal factors such as clothing properties and metabolic rates have to be estimated. Data for estimating the overall values of clothing properties and metabolic rates are available in several papers and standards. However, local values are more difficult to retrieve. For local clothing, this paper revealed that full and consistent data sets are not available in the published literature for typical office clothing sets. Furthermore, the values for local heat production were not verified for characteristic office activities, but were adapted empirically. Further analyses showed that variations in input parameters can lead to local skin temperature differences (∆Tskin,loc=0.4 – 4.4ºC). These differences can affect the local sensation output, where ∆Tskin,loc=1ºC is approximately one step on a 9-point thermal sensation scale. In conclusion, future research should include a systematic study of local clothing properties and the development of feasible methods for measuring and validating local heat production