Comfort Zone Temperature And Humidity
There are many additional factors such as activity level clothing age gender and health status that affect your comfort.
Comfort zone temperature and humidity. Although this definition of comfort zone is rather complex it can be altered by some estimation to a zone which only depends on relative temperature and humidity figure 2. In this article we will discuss two subjects related to thermal stress. The comfort zone or the thermoneutral zone and the thi temperature and humidity index.
Set your indoor temperature at 70 degrees. Meaning high or low relative humidity can be uncomfortable. Radiant heat hot surfaces or radiant heat loss cold surfaces are also important factors for thermal comfort.
Keep humidity levels at 40 when the air temperature is between 20 and 40 degrees outside. The typical range for the best comfort during the summer as listed in the home humidity levels chart is between 30 45. The effect of experiencing higher temperature together with high relative humidity is shown by slanting boundaries of the comfort zone for the lower and upper limits of temperature.
Specifically since regulating indoor humidity is usually much cheaper than altering the temperature we can change that instead of cranking up the boiler or a c to stay in the human comfort zone. According to the environmental protection agency indoor relative humidity should be kept below 60. It has long been accepted that thermal sensations of comfort are affected by relative humidity and that for the same comfort a higher temperature is required to offset a decreased relative humidity.
When temps drop to 10 to 20 degrees reduce indoor humidity to 35. 30 to 70 of relative humidity. The human body will release excess heat into the environment so the body can continue to operate.
The research work on which these conclusions were based is under review and new evidence is being obtained. For every 10 degree drop in the outdoor temperature reduce your indoor humidity level by approximately 5. The human comfort zone plotted to relative humidity and temperature that is we can often save money by turning on a humidifier instead of the heater.