1. A calorimeter for the continuous measurement of heat production and heat loss in the human subject, for at least 24 h, is described. The calorimeter operated on the heat-sink principle for direct calorimetry and an open-circuit system for indirect calorimetry.
2. Sensible heat loss was measured using a water-cooled heat exchanger, and the temperature of water entering the heat exchanger was controlled to maintain a mean temperature gradient of zero across the chamber walls.
3. Evaporative heat loss was determined from ingoing and outgoing wet-and-dry bulb temperatures and air flow-rates.
4. Problems associated with the calculation of evaporative heat loss and the estimation of the volume of incoming air in open-circuit systems are considered.
5. The calibration, limits of accuracy, sources of error and experiments with subjects are discussed
