The shifting of indoor thermal comfort factors: a review

Climate change is increasing the awareness of thermal comfort issues, with many studies examining the aspects of factors and models from different perspectives. However, no comprehensive mappings have been conducted in previous review to explain the dynamics of the shifting of factors and models that can be used as a reference. Therefore, this study aimed to trace, identify, and map the shifting of indoor thermal comfort factors and models in the literature and provide a comprehensive map for future investigation. The identification process was carried out by tracing the development of thermal comfort theories from 1970 to 2019 and reviewing the state-of-the-art study on thermal comfort from 2020 to 2025. The results showed that there were six well-established thermal comfort factors used in many models, including air temperature, air velocity, relative humidity, mean radiant temperature, metabolic rate, and clothing insulation. Later studies, in the other hand, focus more on the application of new methodologies and approach to better couple thermal comfort solution with building energy efficiency to ensure more sustainable future.