Assessment of gender on requirements for thermal comfort in office buildings located in the Brazilian humid subtropical climate

This article aims to assess the effects of gender on requirements for thermal comfort in office buildings. Data were obtained from 83 field studies conducted over 2014 in three office buildings located in Florianópolis, southern Brazil. One of the buildings is fully air-conditioned and the other two operate under mixed-mode strategy, i.e., alternating from air-conditioning to natural ventilation. Data were measured by means of microclimate stations, and the occupants opinions were obtained through a questionnaire. There was no significant difference of clothing insulation for male and female subjects. Significant differences were found for thermal sensation, thermal preference, thermal acceptability and thermal comfort in the central air-conditioned building. In mixed-mode buildings, significant differences were found for thermal sensation and thermal preference responses of male and female subjects. However, during air-conditioning operation in mixed-mode buildings, significant differences were found for thermal preference and thermal acceptability responses of male and female subjects; and during natural ventilation operation, significant differences were found for thermal sensation and thermal preference. In contrast to what some previous studies have found this work indicates the existence of significant differences in the thermal comfort responses of male and female subjects.