Gender differences and non-thermal factors in thermal comfort of office occupants in a hot-arid climate

Abstract

The effects of environmental and individual factors on thermal sensations in 22 air-conditioned office building were examined in a large thermal comfort field study in the hot-arid climate of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia. Sample sizes were 640 office occupants in winter and 589 in summer. Females wore approximately 0.1 clo less than males, with a mean clothing insulation of 0.66 clo in winter and 0.43 in summer. Kalgoorlie-Boulder females were more inclined than males to feel warm and to be thermally dissatisfied under the same conditions in winter. Positive relationships between both job satisfaction (in winter), perceived degree of control over the indoor conditions (in winter and summer), and work area comfort, were found in females. Comparisons with a similar study in a hot-humid location, in Townsville, northern Queensland, Australia, indicated that Townsville respondents were more adapted to their outdoor climatic conditions than Kalgoorlie-Boulder respondents, perhaps due to limited home air-conditioning.