Perceptions and Expectations of Thermal Comfort in the Philippines

This paper builds on the findings of a thermal comfort field study carried out in air conditioned offices in Makati City (Manila), Philippines to investigate the applicability of the universal values of comfort temperatures recommended by international comfort standards. The analyses of the responses of the Filipino office workers indicate that some conventional thinking about comfort preferences is open to question. As a background to explaining the findings, the paper will discuss the transformations, first colonization, and then the introduction of air conditioning, have caused to the social and cultural practices in the Philippines of what people take to be normal and ordinary conditions of comfort. The paper will highlight the variations in definitions, perceptions and expectations of thermal comfort to emphasize the different socio-cultural aspects of interactions between people, technologies and indoor environments. The framework advocating the separation of the technical and social constructions of comfort, on which conventional approaches to thermal comfort are predicated, shape and maintain practices and conventions that have ill-considered consequences on energy use and consumption.