Table 7.
Summary of literature review related to adaption as physiological driver of diversity.
| Reference, year | No. of papers reviewed by reference (for the specific diversity factor) | Methodological quality of the literature review | General conclusion(s) | Effect of diversity factor on thermal comfort established by review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Habituation of different climatic zones | ||||
| Fanger, 1973 [58] | 6 | Non-systematic, laboratory studies only | According to Fanger, there is no effect of adaptation on thermal comfort. | − |
| Rupp, Vasquez and Lamberts 2015 [60] | 16 | Systematic, field studies in universities | Inhabitants of hot and humid climates have higher preferred/neutral temperatures and have wider ranges of thermal acceptability. Several studies report better agreement between actual thermal sensation/preferred temperature and predicted votes of the adaptive comfort model (including the running mean outdoor temperature), as opposed to less accurate prediction of the PMV model. Adaptation to local climate (hot and humid) is reported to be especially pronounced in occupants of naturally ventilated buildings, as opposed to air-conditioned buildings. | + |
| Seasonal adaptation | ||||
| Fanger, 1973 [58] | 1 | Non-systematic | No difference between comfort conditions in winter and summer | − |
| Mishra and Ramgopal, 2013 [59] | 18 | Non-systematic | Different neutral thermal sensations for seasons evident when comparing summer and winter season surveys in field studies. Partly, this variation can be explained by variable clothing, but in a number of cases, clothing alone is not sufficient to explain the differences in thermal sensation (n = 7). | + |
| Rupp, Vasquez and Lamberts 2015 [60] | 1 | Systematic, field study | Different neutral temperatures in fall, winter and spring. | + |
| Circadian/diurnal rhythm | ||||
| Mishra and Ramgopal, 2013 [59] | 2 | Non-systematic | Two studies from different climatic zones report higher neutral temperatures for occupants during the second half of the day (when usually outdoor temperature and body core temperature is also highest). | + |
| Wang et al. 2018 [62] | 4 | Systematic, laboratory studies | Out of four studies, two report significant diurnal differences of neutral temperature with higher preferred ambient temperatures in the afternoon when compared to the morning. In one study, this was even more pronounced in males (+2.4°C) than in females (+0.6°C). | ± |