Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?

International audienc

Evaluating assumptions of scales for subjective assessment of thermal environments – Do laypersons perceive them the way, we researchers believe?

People's subjective response to any thermal environment is commonly investigated by using rating scales describing the degree of thermal sensation, comfort, and acceptability. Subsequent analyses of results collected in this way rely on the assumption that specific distances between verbal anchors placed on the scale exist and that relationships between verbal anchors from different dimensions that are assessed (e.g. thermal sensation and comfort) do not change. Another inherent assumption is that such scales are independent of the context in which they are used (climate zone, season, etc.). Despite their use worldwide, there is indication that contextual differences influence the way the scales are perceived and therefore question the reliability of the scales’ interpretation. To address this issue, a large international collaborative questionnaire study was conducted in 26 countries, using 21 different languages, which led to a dataset of 8225 questionnaires. Results, analysed by means of robust statistical techniques, revealed that only a subset of the responses are in accordance with the mentioned assumptions. Significant differences appeared between groups of participants in their perception of the scales, both in relation to distances of the anchors and relationships between scales. It was also found that respondents’ interpretations of scales changed with contextual factors, such as climate, season, and language. These findings highlight the need to carefully consider context-dependent factors in interpreting and reporting results from thermal comfort studies or post-occupancy evaluations, as well as to revisit the use of rating scales and the analysis methods used in thermal comfort studies to improve their reliability

Contextual differences in the interpretation of thermal perception scales – a large-scale international questionnaire study

Within the IEA EBC Annex 69 on Strategy and Practice of Adaptive Thermal Comfort in Low Energy Buildings (http://annex69.org/), we are conducting an international questionnaire study related to thermal comfort scales. Our objective is the analysis of influences on the perception of thermal comfort scales. In particular, we are looking at the effect of the current thermal state, peoples climatic background, and level of adaptation on the relationship between thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and thermal acceptance

Metadata record for: The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales

This dataset contains key characteristics about the data described in the Data Descriptor The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales. Contents: 1. human readable metadata summary table in CSV format 2. machine readable metadata file in JSON format Versioning Note:Version 2 was generated when the metadata format was updated from JSON to JSON-LD. This was an automatic process that changed only the format, not the contents, of the metadata

Metadata record for: The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales

This dataset contains key characteristics about the data described in the Data Descriptor The Scales Project, a cross-national dataset on the interpretation of thermal perception scales. Contents: 1. human readable metadata summary table in CSV format 2. machine readable metadata file in JSON format Versioning Note:Version 2 was generated when the metadata format was updated from JSON to JSON-LD. This was an automatic process that changed only the format, not the contents, of the metadata