Thermal perception of Brazilian elderly in an air-conditioned room: a first approach

• Autor(a) principal: Montanheiro, Fabiana Padilha
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Faria, João Roberto Gomes de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: PARC (Campinas)
• Texto Completo: https://periodicos.sbu.unicamp.br/ojs/index.php/parc/article/view/8648216
• topic: Thermal perception. Thermal sensation. Elderly. PMV.; Percepção térmica. Sensação térmica. Idosos. PMV.

Despite the aging of the population in general and in particular in Brazil, there is not yet research on the thermal perception of Brazilian elderly. The available information is based on studies conducted in climates very different from those in Brazil. This study's purpose was to evaluate if there are significant differences in the thermal perception of the elderly in comparison with younger subjects. In an air-conditioned room, there were measured their thermal variables and applied a questionnaire to a sample of elderly. The answers to the questions about the reported thermal perception (TP), thermal comfort and preference, personal acceptability and tolerance, were related to the respective operational temperatures and with those calculated by the PMV (reference for non-elderly population). The mean operative temperature for neutrality (TP = 0) was lower than those calculated by the PMV, i.e., smaller than preferred by non-elderly; furthermore, the range of operative temperature for thermal comfort for elderly is also wider than for non-elderly. These results diverge, in principle, from those found in the international literature, by finding lower comfort temperatures for the elderly than for the non-elderly, but they may be supported by more recent studies involving circadian thermometry. Other answers to the questions show that PMV is not a good predictor of thermal comfort conditions for the elderly. As this is the first work on the subject in Brazil, it opens a discussion and invites researchers to carry out similar studies to verify its validity.