HVAC engineers employ heat-balance models such as PMV to predict the subjective impact of a given set of microclimatic parameters on building occupants. Such models are based on familiar climate chamber research, and the same methodology has been used to demonstrate that variables such as local climate, degree of acclimatization, and thermal experiences have no influence on the preferred temperature of a group of people. The current paper takes the heat-balance model into six different field settings (all office environments); two surveys in monsoonal Darwin (two seasonal conditions); two surveys in subtropical Brisbane (air-conditioned and free-running buildings); and two surveys in mid-latitude Melbourne (air-conditioned and free-running buildings). In all six surveys, it was found that simple linear regression equations based on the findings of 50 years of field surveys in thermal comfort were better predictors of the survey groups' neutral temperatures than the sophisticated PMV model. The authors discuss the possibility of factors other than those involved in the body's heat balance influencing thermal perception in field settings.

Units: Dual