Observational study on the individual thermal sensations and their rerationship with past-to-present climate

This study clarifiedrelationships among the individual thermal sensation, skin temperature and experienced environment such as in situ air temperature, gender, exercise experiences and climates in the past-to-present habitations by observational methods. 334 young examineeswho entered Tokyo Metropolitan University in 2003 cooperated with these experiments during the classes of physical education. Interview and questionnaire on individual factors (gender, exercise experiences and climates in the past-to-present habitations and thermal sensation) of examinees, taking thermal infrared images of them and meteorological observationswere conducted in the gymnasium of the university in the spring seven days. To evaluate the relationship with climates in the past-to-present habitations, we divide data on past-to-present climate into 15 types based on the seasons and the terms the examinee experienced the climate in their life. In the thermal neutrality, climates of the past-to-present habitations had statistically significant relationship with the thermal sensation in the thermal neutrality. Especially, the annual maximum temperature in the pre-school habitation was found to have the strongest relationship with the thermal sensation. These results indicate that the individual differences of thermal sensation are affected physiological response as well as thermal environment in the past-to-present habitations.