Thermal comfort: calculated PMV and occupants' opinion.

The vote of acceptance of the thermal conditions of a built space varies with the individual. The design of the space should consider the occupant's thermal comfort therefore the future users' opinion on thermal conditions. People's opinion regarding the acceptance of thermal circumstances of a room can be expressed by several indices the PMV the scale being the most used for this purpose. The objective of this paper is to report the results obtained in the comparison between values of calculated PMV and the users' answers for the acceptance of the thermal circumstances of a room not conditioned mechanically. The study confirms the variability of the individuals' opinions, the usefulness of an index that expresses a median opinion and it alerts for the care that should be taken in the interpretation of the data for its use in the design of spaces. The study was developed in the Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos - UNISINOS being part of the activities of teaching of environmental comfort for undergraduate students in architecture.