An effective sensor for thermal comfort index is necessary for a successful comfort index-based HVAC control system. A comfort sensor with a new structure is proposed in this paper. This instrument consists of an equivalent temperature sensor, a relative humidity sensor and a temperature sensor.
Simulations show that the suggested PMV and SET sensor can have a good measurement of PMV, but for SET more research is needed.

Objective measurement, CFD modelling and subjective assessment have been used in that study to evaluate the thermal comfort of an air-conditoned lecture theatre in the tropics. The simulated parameters are temperature, airflow rate and relative humidity.The parameters were found in the limits of the comfort standard. Occupants' vote show that they were uncomfotable and dissatisfied.

The dispersion of contaminants in an office environment has been investigated. The first experiment was made in a full-scale typical office equipped with two workstations located in the middle of the room and separated by a low-level partition, and the second experiment took place in a room separated in two halves with a low level partition, with one workstation at each corner. A constant injection of tracer gas allowed the measurement of the concentration of contaminant in the chamber for both the layouts.

This paper deals with thermal comfort as part of the dynamic interaction between people and their environment. The comfort temperature is continuously changing. The author introduces the idea of an adaptive thermal comfort through an exploration of the results from thermal comfort surveys in that field. Implications of this approach for building is studied along with how existing technologies should be modified or extended to predict energy use and comfort in occupied buildings.

In the EDF comfort-laboratory, realistic environmental chambers have been designed, furnished and decorated like offices and flats. A large panel of representative consumers has been evaluated on their preferences in terms of comfort, in parallel a small panel of trained experts has carried out sensation measurements. Then a correlation between the data of both studies has been used to explain the preferences in terms of sensations (sensation mapping).

The ambiometer is a tool that allows both the recording of physical parameters of comfort and sensations of the occupant.The method developed is based on field investigations of four components of comfort : thermal, acoustic, visual and olfactory components : the experiment comfort parameters are recorded with the Ambiometer and the occupant gives his own feeling on each comfort parameter and on overall comfort.A database including those physical and perceptive parameters of comfort has been made, information was collected from about sixty offices.

MARSIAN (Modular Autonomous Recorder System for the measurement of Autonomic Nervous System activity) is an ambulatroy measurement and monitoring portable system designed for the evaluation of emotional and sensorial reactions, especially in case of thermal comfort and discomfort.
Smart textiles integrate sensors, and communication system. Its own fibers have an active role of sensing or communication, in addition with its natural mechanical role.
There are 2 kinds of smart clothes :

Through the body is thermally neutral, it does not mean that there is a constant or equal thermo-equilibrium all over the body. There is a problem about the definition of the term "comfort" and the relationship between the thermal sensation and the affective estimate.

The human body is a thermal machine, immersed in air. In this paper, the thermoregulation of the body is presented and explained. Due to its thermoregulation, the body ensures its independent activity, regardless the outer temperatures. That system is quite complex, performant and reactive with a great adaptabitily.
To be valid and efficient, the modelisation of that system has to integrate all those exceptionnal characteristics.

Thermal comfort is a concept quite complex that uses various phenomena, so the methods chosen for its evaluation are different according to the aspects one is interested in. The objective of this paper is not to make an exhaustive review of the exisiting methods but to show advantages and drawbacks of the various approaches. The tools used for evaluation are very often the same as those chosen for investigation and research.