Development of the adaptive model for thermal comfort in Japanese houses

In order to record seasonal differences in the comfort temperature and to develop a domestic adaptive model for Japanese residences, thermal measurements and a thermal comfort survey were conducted for more than 3 years in the living and bedrooms of 121 houses in the Kanto region of Japan. The number of subjects was 119 males and 124 females. We have collected 32,468 thermal comfort votes. The average comfort temperature was 27.0 °C when cooling was used, 20.2 °C when heating was used, and 24.1 °C when neither heating nor cooling were used (the FR mode). The comfort temperatures in spring and autumn were very similar. The seasonal difference (summer and winter) in comfort temperature was very high at 9.0 K. An adaptive relation between the comfort temperature indoors and the outdoor air temperature could be an effective tool for predicting comfort temperatures and for informing control strategies.