ABSTRACT
Two approaches used to predict how people will feel about the physical conditions in buildings are to (a) do experiments to develop an ‘index’, which predicts people’s subjective responses to the environment, or (b) conduct a ‘field survey’ where data on the physical environment and people’s responses are collected in real buildings, and statistics applied to predict their comfort responses. Field surveys involve collecting large amounts of physical, subjective and behavioural data. The aim is to provide, say, a ‘comfort temperature’, for engineers or others to use in their calculations. The analysis of survey data relies on having sufficient data for statistical analysis to produce precise results. This paper looks at how the full range of both physical and subjective data can be presented visually to improve understanding and enable the interrogation of the full range of people’s experiences, in their own buildings and climates, at different times of day and year. Using the shape in time, space and temperatures of data collected from three major surveys in Pakistan, the UK and five European countries, demonstrates an approach to understanding comfort, in its many dimensions, providing valuable insights into the relationship between resilience and comfort experiences in the real world.
