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The role of architecture, interior design and radiant based HVAC on human comfort.

Now that we have discussed our senses, the location of our skin sensors, the methods of heat transfer which regulates bodies temperature and finally what happens when we are over and under heated; we should now look at how our comfort is influence by architecture including room shape, its efficiency and its floor coverings. See instructions below (you will need Adobe reader):

Instructions: Place and click your cursor over the above illustration, then using your up and down keys navigated through the slide presentation. Picture yourself in these slides and try to image your comfort level. These slides come from chapter 2 of the Home Owners Guide to Indoor Comfort Quality and the schematic Radiant Based HVAC Systems.

Message:

• At a given mechanical heat input, the more efficient the building the higher the mean radiant temp and thus the greater the comfort.

• In cooling at a given heat absorption rate the lower the mean radiant temperature the greater the comfort.

• Also the more efficient the building the less draft or natural stratification of air.

• All things being equal, building efficiency directly influences your comfort or in the case of inefficiency - your discomfort.

"To much of the world, interior design is about creating rooms that are works of art, not about creating interior environments that are safe and healthy and that enable and support human interaction."
Anita Baltimore, FASID, ASID President

"The built environment has direct and indirect effects on mental health."
Dr. G. Evans, Departments of Design and Environmental Analysis and Human Development
 Cornell University

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