INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
Thermal Comfort Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Thermal comfort and children Multiple studies have investigated the thermal comfort of children using a wide variety of approaches. Studies have found that students prefer cooler temperatures than adults.1–8, 19 These studies are critical since the current thermal comfort standards were developed using adult subjects1,7 and more studies are needed to validate thermal comfort of children. For example, a study in Hawaiian classrooms found an 80% of acceptability in students in naturally-ventilated and air-conditioned classrooms, regardless of being inside or outside the comfort zone.83 Similarly, a study in Japanese classrooms found that students in air-conditioned classrooms were inside the comfort zone, but had slightly cool sensations, while naturally ventilated classrooms were 5.4 °F (3 °C) warmer, but students still indicated comfort votes in the middle 3 categories of the ASHRAE scale, nearing neutrality.84 In addition, thermal comfort literature recognizes that children from different developmental stages have different metabolic rates. Therefore, the way metabolic rate fits into the current models needs to be adjusted.1, 2 Some researchers have even argued for the need of thermal comfort guidelines for different ages and developmental stages.8 Nonetheless, currently no widely accepted model includes such variations. In schools, students are often not in control of the classroom thermal conditions. Typically, the teacher has control or authority over the thermostat or whether the windows/doors are open or closed, making students passive recipients of the environment.2 It is assumed that If children are in a constant state of thermal discomfort, this may reduce their performance at school. Thermal comfort studies must define the type of ventilation in the classrooms and data compared to the relevant standards, in most cases, ASHRAE Standard 55 Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy. For example, a study in higher education with 50 undergraduate students found no differences in performance between students in naturally ventilated (NV) and mechanically ventilated (MV) classrooms. This study found that when the students could adapt and modify their surroundings in well-designed NV classrooms with operable windows and other means to increase air movement, the student performance was similar to performance in MV classrooms.85
Thermal comfort and performance in schools Researchers believe that thermal comfort impacts student performance when exposed to either too high or too low temperatures. However, there is currently no consensus in the literature about the conditions under which this happens. Therefore, researchers have proposed two approaches: 1) an
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