ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2023: Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy

What the study found

Defines methods for evaluating satisfactory thermal environments using standard and adaptive approaches.

Limitations

A comfort standard, not proof of optimal cognition, sleep or individual comfort.

Neurodesign interpretation

A standard tells us what a field agrees can be specified. It does not tell us the upper bound of human performance or restoration.

Possible design implications

Use as the minimum/consensus layer, then add outcome-specific evidence for sleep, cognition or special populations.

Why it stays in the corpus

Retain as the baseline thermal-comfort compliance reference.

Study design

Consensus standard

Population

Building occupants

Setting

Occupied buildings

Field

Thermal comfort

Mechanism

Thermal balance, adaptive comfort

Spatial variable

Air temperature, radiant temperature, humidity, air speed, clothing, activity

Keywords

ASHRAE 55, thermal comfort, standard