Tian Xiaoyu, Xu Runpu, Liu Weiwei
School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China.
School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha, 410083, China.
J Therm Biol. 2023 Feb;112:103422. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2022.103422. Epub 2023 Jan 21.
This study explored the facial skin temperature and thermal sensation of sub-tropically acclimated subjects in summer. We conducted a summer experiment that simulated the common indoor temperatures in Changsha, China. Twenty healthy subjects experienced five exposure conditions: 24, 26, 28, 30 and 32 °C with a relative humidity of 60%. During exposure (140min), the sitting participants documented their thermal sensation, comfort and acceptability of the environment. Their facial skin temperatures were continuously and automatically recorded by using iButtons. These facial parts include the forehead, nose, left and right ears, left and right cheeks and chin. The results found that the maximum facial skin temperature difference increased with air temperature reduction. The forehead skin temperature was the highest. Nose skin temperature is lowest when air temperature is not higher than 26 °C during summer. Correlation analysis confirmed that the nose is the potential facial part that is most suitable to evaluate thermal sensation. Based on the published winter experiment, we further explored their seasonal effects. The seasonal analysis showed that, compared with winter, thermal sensation is more sensitive to indoor temperature changes and facial skin temperatures were less susceptible to thermal sensation changes in summer. Facial skin temperatures were higher in summer under the same thermal conditions. It suggests that seasonal effects should be considered when facial skin temperature can be used as an important parameter for indoor environment control in the future through monitoring thermal sensation.
本研究探讨了亚热带地区适应环境的受试者在夏季的面部皮肤温度和热感觉。我们进行了一项夏季实验，模拟了中国长沙常见的室内温度。20名健康受试者经历了五种暴露条件：温度分别为24、26、28、30和32°C，相对湿度为60%。在暴露期间（140分钟），坐着的参与者记录了他们的热感觉、舒适度和对环境的可接受性。使用iButtons连续自动记录他们的面部皮肤温度。这些面部部位包括额头、鼻子、左右耳、左右脸颊和下巴。结果发现，最大面部皮肤温度差随着气温降低而增大。额头皮肤温度最高。夏季气温不高于26°C时，鼻子皮肤温度最低。相关性分析证实，鼻子是最适合评估热感觉的潜在面部部位。基于已发表的冬季实验，我们进一步探讨了它们的季节效应。季节分析表明，与冬季相比，夏季热感觉对室内温度变化更敏感，而面部皮肤温度对热感觉变化的敏感性较低。在相同热条件下，夏季面部皮肤温度更高。这表明，未来通过监测热感觉将面部皮肤温度用作室内环境控制的重要参数时，应考虑季节效应。
