Provide occupants with thermal control and comfort
Rationale: Ensuring that occupied spaces meet standard and comfortable temperature ranges and allow occupants to influence room temperature enhances thermal comfort, contributing to improved mood and diminished risk of psychological distress — and temperate room temperatures are also associated with infection control.
Requirements
Demonstrate compliance with one of the options below:
Option 1 - Optimal Temperature and Control (Full Credit):
Demonstrate compliance with all the following requirements:
- Ensure an optimal temperature range of 68℉ - 79℉ (20°C - 26°C) through direct reading sensors or thermostats within the entire building.
- Provide access to thermal control devices or systems that allow for individual or group control of temperature for all building occupants.
Qualifying thermal control devices or systems may include but are not limited to the following:
- thermostat controls
- HVAC grills that allow for vent control
- building management system, website, or app that allows for temperature control requests
- stand-alone fans.
Option 2 - Survey and Control (Full Credit):
Conduct an occupant thermal comfort satisfaction survey that meets all of the following requirements:
- The thermal comfort satisfaction survey is fielded annually.
- Ensure the thermal comfort satisfaction survey meets the response rate below based on the number of total building occupants:
Required response rates:
- for projects with 1 - 1,000 occupants, a 30% response rate
- for projects with 1,001 - 2,000 occupants, a 25% response rate
- for projects with 2,001- 3,500 occupants, a 20% response rate
- for projects with 3,501 - 5,000 occupants, a 15% response rate
- for projects with 5,001 - 10,000 occupants, a 10% response rate
- for projects over 10,000 occupants, the required response rate decreases by 1% for every additional 1,000 occupants to a minimum of 5%.
- Ensure 80% of the thermal comfort satisfaction survey respondents are "satisfied" with the thermal conditions.
Note that projects must use the Likert Scale to assess satisfaction with thermal conditions (5-point scale: Very unsatisfied, Somewhat unsatisfied, Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Very satisfied). Any respondent reporting a “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” response will qualify as satisfied.
- Share the thermal comfort satisfaction survey results with all full- and part-time employees and staff through a minimum of one of the following methods:
- a digital platform, such as a website, digital application, or display screen in common areas
- communication material, such as notification emails or newsletters
.
- Provide access to thermal control devices or systems that allow for individual or group control of temperature for all building occupants.
Qualifying thermal control devices or systems may include but are not limited to the following:
- thermostat controls
- HVAC grills that allow for vent control
- building management system, website, or app that allows for temperature control requests
- stand-alone fans.
Option 3 - Predicted Mean Vote and Control (Full Credit):
Demonstrate compliance with all of the following requirements:
- Ensure that the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) of thermal comfort is between +0.5 and -0.5 for the entire building.
- Provide access to thermal control devices or systems that allow for individual or group control of temperature for all building occupants.
Qualifying thermal control devices or systems may include but are not limited to the following:
- thermostat controls
- HVAC grills that allow for vent control
- building management system, website, or app that allows for temperature control requests
- stand-alone fans.
Option 4 - Optimal Temperature Range (Partial Credit):
The project may achieve partial credit by demonstrating compliance with the following requirement:
- Ensure an optimal temperature range of 68℉ - 79℉ (20°C - 26°C) through direct reading sensors or thermostats within the entire building.
Option 5 - Satisfaction Survey (Partial Credit):
Conduct an occupant thermal comfort satisfaction survey that meets all of the following requirements:
- The thermal comfort satisfaction survey is fielded annually.
- Ensure the thermal comfort satisfaction survey meets the response rate below based on the number of total building occupants:
Required response rates:
- for projects with 1 - 1,000 occupants, a 30% response rate
- for projects with 1,001 - 2,000 occupants, a 25% response rate
- for projects with 2,001- 3,500 occupants, a 20% response rate
- for projects with 3,501 - 5,000 occupants, a 15% response rate
- for projects with 5,001 - 10,000 occupants, a 10% response rate
- for projects over 10,000 occupants, the required response rate decreases by 1% for every additional 1,000 occupants to a minimum of 5%.
- Ensure 80% of the thermal comfort satisfaction survey respondents are "satisfied" with the thermal conditions.
Note that projects must use the Likert Scale to assess satisfaction with thermal conditions (5-point scale: Very unsatisfied, Somewhat unsatisfied, Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, Somewhat satisfied, Very satisfied). Any respondent reporting a “somewhat satisfied” or “very satisfied” response will qualify as satisfied.
- Share the thermal comfort satisfaction survey results with all full- and part-time employees and staff through a minimum of one of the following methods:
- a digital platform, such as a website, digital application, or display screen in common areas
- communication material, such as notification emails or newsletters.
Option 6 - Predicted Mean Vote (Partial Credit):
Demonstrate compliance with the following requirement:
- Ensure that the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) of thermal comfort is between +0.5 and -0.5 for the entire building.
PMV may be calculated using the ASHRAE 55 chart of the online Thermal Comfort Tool, which can be found at: https://comfort.cbe.berkeley.edu/.
If the project team opts to use a PMV calculator other than the one provided, they must demonstrate that the calculations have considered air speed or velocity, air temperature, clothing insulation, metabolic rate or work, relative humidity, and radiant temperature.
Option 7 - Thermal Control (Partial Credit):
The project may achieve partial credit by demonstrating compliance with the following requirement:
- Provide access to thermal control devices or systems that allow for individual or group control of temperature for all building occupants.
Qualifying thermal control devices or systems may include but are not limited to the following:
- thermostat controls
- HVAC grills that allow for vent control
- building management system, website, or app that allows for temperature control requests
- stand-alone fans.
Compliance Documentation
Types of compliance documentation required:
- Certified statements
- Annotated specification sheet
- Annotated photographs
- Survey
- Calculations
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