Exploring Indoor Thermal environment and cognitive performance in a short-term occupancy setting

Abstract

It is general knowledge that the thermal comfort strongly influences people's wellbeing, health, and productivity. Many studies point to a significant relationship between working performance and indoor thermal conditions. This contribution presents the results of a related large scale experiment with a group of architectural students. Participants were separated in two groups, placed in two identical rooms (seated at tables), and shown a brief video lecture. One of the test rooms was heated, the other one was cool. After watching the video, participants were asked to work on a test involving a few multiple choice and open questions. The test cells were monitored with regard to temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration. We discuss the test performance of the two groups of participants in the context of the corresponding indoor climate conditions.