A Survey of the Adaptive Comfort Approach and its Impact on Alternates-to-Air Conditioning - Part 1 of 2

The article introduces the concepts of the Adaptive Approach/Model for comfort, in which the comfort temperature selected for the built-in space will vary over a relatively large range. They are discussed extensively with particular reference to the familiar Fixed Temperature concepts, that are covered elaborately in the Fundamental Volumes of ASHRAE Handbooks and in ASHRAE Standard 55 over the last few editions. The Adaptive Comfort Standard (ACS), which is presented briefly in several editions of ASHRAE Standard 55, is covered in much greater detail in this article.