The validity of predicted mean vote for air-conditioned offices

Purpose - To examine the role of predicted mean vote (PMV) in air-conditioned environments by conducting a thermal comfort study. Design/methodology/approach - A formal statistical approach was adopted for the credibility of the study. Thermal measurements and questionnaire filling were carried out in commercial offices to collect the required data. Statistical analysis on the collected data and logical reasoning were then employed to derive the conclusions. Findings - Provide an evidence to support PMV to be an appropriate thermal comfort index in air-conditioned environments. Guarantee high productivity of occupants by using PMV in air-conditioning control. Research limitations/implications - Future research work should be carried out to investigate any significant relationship between improvement in PMV and the profits gained by occupants inside an air-conditioned space. With such relationship, it is possible to develop an intelligent air-conditioning control to yield the most cost-effective thermal environments for commercial offices. Practical implications - Air-conditioning engineers are highly recommended to employ PMV to assess the thermal comfort environment in air-conditioned offices. Originality/value - This paper highlights the importance aspect on choosing a thermal comfort index for comfort assessment in air-conditioned offices. The index itself should not consider adaptive actions. Otherwise, the productivity of occupants would be severely deteriorated. It is well known that PMV is the thermal comfort index that can fulfill this requirement.