Suggested and Preferred Amount of Clothing in a Winter Indoor Condition

This study proposes the suggested amount of clothing (SAC) and examines the preferred amount of clothing (PAC) for thermal comfort in mild cold conditions. Six male and nine female college students were systematically exposed to mild cold conditions by reducing the amount of clothing (Step I, 1.2clo ${\rightarrow}$ Step II, 1.0clo ${\rightarrow}$ Step III, 0.8clo ${\rightarrow}$ Step IV, 0.7clo). The subjects were then asked to adjust the amount of clothing to attain overall thermal comfort until they maintained thermal comfort for 10 minutes without changing the amount of clothing (Step V). The experiment was carried out in a climatic chamber at $19.5^{\circ}C$, 50%R.H. Body composition was measured and individual cold climate adaptability was surveyed before starting the experiment. Rectal temperature ($T^{re}$), skin temperature ($T_{sk}$), and oxygen consumption ($\dot{V}O_2$) were measured and the overall thermal sensation was voted in each step. PAC was obtained from the garments weight selected by each subject in Step V. SAC was proposed based on the change of oxygen consumption (${\Delta}\dot{V}O_2$). As a result, males showed higher $\bar{T}_{sk}$ and greater $O_2$ than females (p<.01). SAC obtained from $\dot{V}O_2$ were 652.0 (SE 3.9) g/$m^2$ for males and 766.0 (SE 2.5) g/$m^2$ for females and it was significantly different between groups (p<.01). PAC of males and females were 1.6 and 1.5 times heavier than SAC. In conclusion, females were more sensitive to the cold stress and recommended larger amount of clothing than males.