Thermal comfort and behavioural strategies in office buildings located in a hot-arid climate

The effects of indoor climates on thermal perceptions and adaptive behaviour of office workers during a large field study in Kalgoorlie-Boulder, located in a hot-arid region of Western Australia, are discussed. Clothing insulation levels were 0.5clo in summer and 0.7 in winter. Thermal neutrality, according to responses on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers seven-point sensation scale, occurred at 20.3 degreesC in winter and at 23.3 degreesC in summer. The effect of hot-dry/cool-dry seasonality on thermal comfort responses of office workers was significant. Future research into how the overcooling of office buildings in hot-dry climates can be reduced is called for. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.