In 1980 Sara Balcomb conducted an investigation into the thermal comfort experienced by students in two elementary schools located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, designed to be heated mainly by solar input.
To his great surprise, the students rarely mentioned the thermal comfort or discomfort they felt, but they systematically highlighted the acoustic comfort of the classrooms.
Indeed, the abundance of glazing in these passive solar schools increases the amount of natural light and reduces the use of fluorescent lighting which generally produces a parasitic hum.
The absence of noise generated by artificial lighting was felt to be comfortable by the students.
This example perfectly illustrates the problem of taking into account overall comfort, which goes beyond strict thermal comfort.
The elements perceived as comfortable by residents are often surprising and force the designer to consider other subjective factors of comfort.
Sources: S. Balcomb, R. Célaire.
Image: Unsplash, Ivan Aleksic