New Air Temperature- and Wind Speed-Based Clothing Thermal Resistance Scheme—Estimations for the Carpathian Region

Abstract

A new clothing thermal resistance scheme is presented and verified for the Carpathian region and for the time period 1971–2000. The scheme is as simple as possible by connecting operative temperature to air temperature, which allows for it to only use air temperature and wind speed data as meteorological inputs. Another strength of the scheme is that a walking person’s metabolic heat flux density is also simply simulated without having to regard any thermoregulation processes. Human thermal load in the above region is characterised by a representative adult Hungarian male and female with a body mass index of 23–27 kgm−2. Our most important findings are as follows: (1) human thermal load in the Carpathian region is relief dependent; (2) the scheme cannot be applied in the lowland areas of the region in the month of July since the energy balance is not met; (3) in the same areas but during the course of the year, clothing thermal resistance values are between 0.4 and 1 clo; (4) clothing thermal resistance can reach 1–1.2 clo in the mountains in the month of July, but during the course of the year this value is 1.8 clo; and (5) the highest clothing thermal resistance values can be found in January reaching about 2.5 clo. The scheme may be easily applied to any another region by determining new, region-specific, operative temperature–air temperature relationships.