Being healthy and productive at home, on the factory floor, at the office—or even at the beach—requires being in a comfortable environment. That certainly includes a comfortable temperature, but the job of the environmental designer goes far beyond just controlling the thermometer setting.
Take comfort level, for example. It’s a subjective feeling that depends not only on the temperature, but also the humidity level. At a given temperature, workers suffer adverse consequences as the humidity rises, so temperature and humidity are often combined to form a “heat index” that can bring significant health risks at high levels. Before the danger zone arrives, changes in temperature or humidity can quickly result in an environment that feels uncomfortable to a typical individual—a subjective “comfort zone.”