Investigating thermal comfort models: analysis and improvements to ensure comfort and wellbeing in buildings

Ensuring a healthy and comfortable environment has become a primary issue for researchers, as Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) can improve the performance of the building’s occupants. In particular, the evaluation of the thermal environment is specifically significant, as it largely affects occupants’ wellbeing and building energy consumption. Indeed, in the past, particular attention was given to energy consumption only. Currently, the real challenge is to reach high comfort standards indoors while reducing energy waste. In fact, the consumption related to buildings can be a consistent part addressed to the maintenance of comfort and health indoors. This thesis aims to address the need to reduce energy consumption and maintain high standards of environmental quality, also in relation to current issues due to the energy crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. In this context, it intends to contribute to these issues through a more careful assessment of thermal comfort, revising existing models and introducing the analysis of adaptive behaviour within educational buildings.