Seeing is believing, or is it? An assessment of the influence of interior finish characteristics on thermal comfort perception at a University campus in a temperate climate

Abstract

Being a ‘condition of mind’, thermal comfort can be considered to be both a physiological and psychological response. Research shows that other than the physiological factors which are well established in prevailing thermal comfort standards, behavioural and psychological factors equally affect how humans adapt to the thermal conditions of their environment. Human response to thermal conditions is often based on predispositions associated with their perception and expectations of the physical environment. This paper examined the impact of interior finish characteristics on thermal comfort perception in learning spaces by analysing thermal comfort perceptions of students across 48 lecture theatres surveyed during the winter and spring season between 2012 and 2015 in University College London. A taxonomy of interior finish characteristics was first developed to guide the classification of the lecture theatres into different groups for statistical analysis. Results from hypothesis testing found small yet statistically significant differences in thermal comfort as a function of the colour hues (ȴ с 0.1) as well as the perceived naturalness (ȴ с 0.0ϲ) of interior finish characteristics. The findings of this study may have potential implications for the interior design of low carbon and healthy buildings that aim to minimize energy used for space heating whilst maintaining high indoor thermal comfort