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Bioclimatology of Housing

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Recent Studies in Bioclimatology

Part of the book series: Meteorological Monographs ((METEOR,volume 2))

Abstract

Because of the limited adaptability of humans to environmental conditions, the house has become the shield against natural climate variations in the global scheme of settlement. Most people nowadays spend more time indoors than in any other climatic environment. This makes houses an important bioclimatic object of investigations.

Houses, even without mechanical devices for heating and cooling, modify the external climate and create a distinct internal cryptoclimate. Radiation, temperature, and wind are the most prominent factors acting upon houses. The relation of these to the indoor conditions are fairly well-known and summarized from the pertinent literature in this paper. Indoor comfort conditions have also been established and a reasonable agreement exists between various schemes. Most of these are based upon the collective influence of temperature, humidity, and air motion.

A summarization of known facts about indoor climate, and human reactions to it, shows that little information exists about ionization, electric fields, aerosols, and gaseous admixtures to air. Nor has the full biological impact of air conditioning been explored. More systematic observations on all types of structures are needed, but particular attention should be paid to apartment house climates, for which the data are very scanty.

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Author notes

  1. H. Landsberg (Geophysics Research Directorate)

    Present address: U. S. Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C., USA

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  1. Air Force Cambridge Research Center, USA

    H. Landsberg (Geophysics Research Directorate)

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  1. H. Landsberg
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F. Sargent II R. G. Stone

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© 1954 American Meteorological Society

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Landsberg, H. (1954). Bioclimatology of Housing. In: Sargent, F., Stone, R.G. (eds) Recent Studies in Bioclimatology. Meteorological Monographs, vol 2. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-940033-11-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-940033-11-2_9

  • Publisher Name: American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA

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