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An investigation on humans' sensitivity to environmental temperature
Laura Battistel1,2, Andrea Vilardi3, Massimiliano Zampini4
1Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Corso Bettini 31, Rovereto, TN, Italy. laura.battistel@unitn.it.
Scientific Reports
|December 4, 2023
Summary
Humans can accurately detect small temperature changes, with a just noticeable difference (JND) of 0.38°C. These findings on thermal perception can inform intelligent building temperature control systems.
Area of Science:
- Human sensory perception
- Thermoreception
- Environmental psychology
Background:
- Previous studies focused on localized thermal perception.
- Whole-body thermal perception remains less understood.
- Understanding thermal perception is crucial for human comfort and building design.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whole-body thermal perception.
- To quantify temperature discrimination thresholds.
- To assess individual variability in thermal perception.
Main Methods:
- 26 participants experienced oscillating temperatures in four climate chambers.
- Participants reported perceived temperature differences between chambers.
- Generalized linear mixed-effects models analyzed 3120 temperature judgments.
Main Results:
- High accuracy in temperature discrimination was observed.
- Minimal individual variation in thermal perception was found.
- Key metrics include: Just Noticeable Difference (JND) of 0.38°C, JND95 of 0.92°C, and Ceiling Performance Levels (CPLs) ranging from -0.91°C to 0.80°C.
Conclusions:
- Human thermal perception is remarkably precise.
- JND95 and CPLs offer valuable data for optimizing thermal environments.
- Findings can advance intelligent algorithms for building temperature control systems.
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