ABSTRACT
There was no such thing as a thermal index or a comfort temperature when some of the most beautiful buildings in the world were erected: buildings where the interplay of air and stone brings fresh delight at every turn in the heat of the summer a playful breeze skirting round a corner. Following the Kyoto agreement, there is an international imperative to reduce energy consumption and its associated anthropogenic emissions which contribute to pollution and global climate change. The success of a building depends on whether a comfortable indoor environment is achieved. Generally, the feelings of hotness are measured on the ASHRAE scale, a seven-point scale between Hot and Cold. The scientific study of human thermal comfort has centered chiefly on evaluating under laboratory conditions the heat exchanges that occur between a person and the thermal environment and the physiological conditions that are needed for human comfort.
