Thermal comfort in the built environment: current solutions and future expectations

In recent times providing buildings with high Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) has become an essential necessity. Of the aspects defining IEQ (air quality, thermal comfort, visual and acoustic quality), thermal comfort is a particularly important feature, as it largely affects comfort and productivity of the occupants. Several approaches and methods exist to determine thermal comfort in indoor spaces. However, the different building use and the diverse characteristics of the envelope can influence the determination of the environmental parameters indoors. For these reasons, this paper provides an overview of the main aspects concerning residential, educational, healthcare and recreational buildings. Furthermore, it shows the main problems that can be encountered in the determination of thermal comfort in these spaces and it summarizes the future studies that should be developed in order to assess correctly the indoor conditions, which can have implications also on energy consumptions.