ABSTRACT
An objective for environmental design is to provide comfort, well-being, health, and performance to people who experience the environment, and maybe stimulation, inspiration, pleasure, and excitement. Implicit in that objective is the avoidance of discomfort and dissatisfaction; avoidance of conditions detrimental to health, which can lead to illness, injury, or even death; and enhancement of performance and productivity, which includes the avoidance of conditions that reduce motivation, physical capacity, including manual dexterity, and cognitive ability, or cause distraction and time off from work. This chapter provides principles and methods for the design and assessment of thermal environments. It describes how people respond to hot, moderate, and cold environments and presents principles, techniques, and tools for measuring thermal stress and its effects, and how they can be used in practical applications.
