Thermal Comfort Survey

Hi Jane, If you're comfortable sharing it, it would be useful to see the wording of the review comment. Thanks! Karin

Jane, I am wondering if you included the Plan for Corrective Action with your survey? There is a template for that here as well and I have had much luck with both.

Thanks for sharing your review comments. We've used the same survey on numerous projects and have never received this comment. The credit language asks that the survey collect responses about thermal comfort in the building, not that the survey language map exactly to the components addressed by ASHRAE. I would understand if the review comment was directed at the corrective action plan, but it doesn't make sense to me to try to ask building occupants to comment on the air speed, radiant temperature or other metrics that they couldn't feasibly measure based on observation. In order to respond to the review comments, you might indicate on the survey which questions mapped to each aspect and provide a narrative. For example, you could make the link between the satisfaction question regarding temperature/thermal comfort with radiant temperature and air temperature, and the seasonal comfort with humidity.

They're effectively looking for more probing questions that help drill down and identify the nature and cause of the problem. For example: 1. In warm/hot weather, is the temperature in the workplace often too hot, or often too cold? 2. In cool/cold weather, is the temperature in the workplace often too hot, or often too cold? 3. At what time(s) of day does the problem most often occur? 4. How would you best describe the source of the discomfort? Humidity too high? Too low? Air movement too high? Too low? Incoming sun? Hot or cold surfaces? Heat from office equipment? Drafts from windows, vents or ceiling? 5. Is the air stuffy or stale? 6. is the air clean? 7. Does the air have an odor? 8. If dissatisfied with the lighting, is it too dark, too light, not enough daylight, too much daylight, lights flickering, no task lighting, reflections on computer screen? By providing a few more probing questions in addition to the table in the survey, you'll be able to address each of the environmental variables in ASHRAE 55.