Students’ thermal comfort in the context of gender and body mass index

Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław, Poland

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Abstract

Researchers focus on the indoor thermal environment considering sensation votes of the respondents by gender. As gender is more complex sociological aspect nowadays, it is possible focusing on more measurable value like body physique. The scope of this study is to analyse whether and to what extent indices like gender and body mass index (BMI) influence the perception of thermal comfort of first-year students. The study was conducted on three selected days of the winter semester during the lectures. The responses from the questionnaires and measurements of the indoor air parameters allowed to calculate the following indicators: thermal sensation and preference vote, predicted mean vote and predicted percentage of dissatisfied. Students’ height and body mass allowed to determine the BMI. Our results revealed a lack of a clear scientifically validated answer to the question of different operative temperature preferences according to gender. Statistical analysis showed that there were no statistically significant differences between students' TSV responses across BMI categories on any of the three measurement days. Among young healthy people who do not show pathological deviations from the healthy body weight, gender and BMI did not significantly affect thermal sensations in relatively comfortable thermal conditions of an investigated lecture room.