Heating thermal comfort in highly air-tight and insulated house - Variation of peripheral skin temperature

Experiments using human subjects have been conducted to investigate the physiological and psychological responses to two different heating methods, i.e. floor heating and air conditioner, in a highly insulated house. This paper describes a study on the effects of the heating methods on skin temperature changes by investigating changes in skin temperature caused by thermal conditions, sexual differences in skin temperature change, the correlation between declared scores and drops in peripheral skin temperature using the experimental results. Subjects whose skin temperature differed by at least 6°C between the belly and the instep in all temperature conditions were grouped into "Dropped", those who showed such a difference under some temperature conditions were grouped as "Pseudo dropped", and those who never showed a temperature difference of 6°C were grouped as "Not dropped". There was no clear correlation between subjects of the "Dropped or pseudo-dropped" group and their declaration for poor circulation. There was a clear sexual difference in "Dropped or pseudo-dropped" and "Not-dropped" grouping. Many females belonged to the "Dropped or pseudo-dropped", suggesting a relationship with poor circulation.