Neural network-based thermal comfort prediction for the elderly

¹ Joint International Research Laboratory of Green Buildings and Built Environments (Ministry of Education), Chongqing University, Chongqing, China 40004
² National Centre for International Research of Low-carbon and Green Buildings (Ministry of Science and Technology), Chongqing University, Chongqing, China 400045

^* Corresponding author: liuhong1865@163.com

Abstract

Machine learning technology has become a hot topic and is being applied in many fields. However, in the prediction of thermal sensation in the elderly, there is not enough research on the neural network to predict the effect of human thermal comfort. In this paper, two neural network algorithms were used to predict the thermal expectation of the elderly, and the accuracy of the two algorithms was compared to find a suitable neural network algorithm to predict human thermal comfort. The dataset was collected from the laboratory study and included 10 local skin temperatures of the subjects, thermal perception voted at three temperatures (28/30/32°C), different wind speeds, and two forms of wind. Thirteen subjects with an average age of 63.5 years old were recruited for the subjective survey. These subjects sat for long periods of summer working conditions, wore uniform thermal resistance clothing, and collected votes on thermal sensation, as well as skin temperature. The results showed that the prediction accuracy of the two algorithms was related to the added influence factors, and the RBF neural network algorithm was the most accurate in predicting thermal sensation of the elderly. The main influencing factors were average skin temperature, wind speed and body fat rate.