How do you incorporate occupant feedback and preferences into your thermal comfort strategies?

1 Assess the current situation

Before you can improve your thermal comfort strategies, you need to understand the current conditions and performance of your thermal systems. You can use various tools and methods to measure and monitor the indoor temperature, humidity, air quality, and ventilation, such as sensors, meters, dashboards, and building management systems. You also need to collect and analyze occupant feedback and complaints, using surveys, interviews, focus groups, or feedback apps. This will help you identify the sources of dissatisfaction, the areas of improvement, and the expectations of your occupants.

2 Define the comfort criteria

Based on the data and feedback you gathered, you can define the comfort criteria for your thermal systems. These are the standards and guidelines that specify the acceptable ranges and variations of the thermal parameters, such as the ASHRAE 55 or ISO 7730. However, you should also consider the specific characteristics and preferences of your occupants, such as their age, gender, culture, or activity level. You can use tools such as the adaptive comfort model or the predicted mean vote to account for these factors and customize your comfort criteria accordingly.

3 Implement the comfort strategies

Once you have defined the comfort criteria, you can implement the comfort strategies that aim to achieve and maintain them. These can include passive or active measures, such as improving the insulation, shading, or orientation of the building, installing or upgrading the heating, cooling, or ventilation systems, or using smart controls or automation to optimize the thermal performance. You should also consider the cost-effectiveness, energy efficiency, and environmental impact of your comfort strategies, and seek to balance them with the occupant satisfaction.

4 Communicate and educate

A key aspect of incorporating occupant feedback and preferences into your thermal comfort strategies is to communicate and educate them about your goals, methods, and results. You should inform your occupants about the comfort criteria, the comfort strategies, and the benefits they bring to their well-being and productivity. You should also educate them about their role and responsibility in achieving and maintaining thermal comfort, such as adjusting their clothing, behavior, or personal controls, or reporting any issues or suggestions.

5 Evaluate and improve

Finally, you should evaluate and improve your thermal comfort strategies on a regular basis, using both objective and subjective indicators. You should measure and track the thermal parameters and the energy consumption of your thermal systems, using the tools and methods mentioned earlier. You should also solicit and review occupant feedback and satisfaction, using the same or different tools and methods as before. This will help you identify any gaps, problems, or opportunities for improvement, and adjust your comfort criteria or comfort strategies accordingly.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?