Effects of increased humidity on physiological responses, thermal comfort, perceived air quality, and Sick Building Syndrome symptoms at elevated indoor temperatures for subjects in a hot‐humid climate

• Published in: Indoor air Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 524 - 540
• Main Authors: Zuo, Chunying, Luo, Lin, Liu, Weiwei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.03.2021
• Subjects: Acclimatization; Air quality; Air temperature; Climate; gender difference; Heart rate; high relative humidity; high temperature; Humid areas; Humid climates; Humidity; Indoor air pollution; Indoor air quality; Indoor environments; Mechanical ventilation; Physiological effects; physiological response; Physiological responses; Physiology; Relative humidity; Respiration; Sick building syndrome; Skin temperature; subjective sensation; Temperature; Thermal comfort; Ventilation; subjective sensation; gender difference; high relative humidity; physiological response; thermal comfort; high temperature
• ISSN: 0905-6947; 1600-0668; 1600-0668
• DOI: 10.1111/ina.12739

Recently, studies suggest that the average indoor temperature is typically >30°C and that the maximum temperature can reach 37.5°C in hot‐humid areas. However, the effects caused by increasing the humidity at high indoor temperatures are not clear. In this study, twelve female and twelve male subjects were exposed to different operative temperature (26.6, 30.6, and 37.4°C) and relative humidity (50% and 70%) in a climate chamber. Data concerning thermal sensation, perceived air quality, and Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) were collected during 190‐min‐long exposure to each thermal condition. Heart rate, respiration rate, respiratory ventilation rate, mean skin temperature, and eardrum temperature were measured. It was found that increasing the relative humidity from 50% to 70% at 26 and 30°C had no significant effects on the physiological responses, thermal comfort, perceived air quality, or SBS symptoms of the subjects. However, when the temperature was elevated to 37°C, the heart rate, respiration rate, respiratory ventilation rate, mean skin temperature, and eardrum temperature increased significantly as a result of the increase in the relative humidity from 50% to 70%. The subjects felt hotter and more uncomfortable, and they found indoor air quality was more difficult to accept. The subjects are acclimatized to hot environments and more tolerant to heat. Therefore, the results are applicable to the acclimated people living in hot‐humid climate.