New and Old Indices for Evaluating Heat Stress in an Indoor Environment: Some Considerations. Comment on Kownacki L.; Gao C.; Kuklane K.; Wierzbicka A. Heat Stress in Indoor Environments of Scandinavian Urban Areas: A Literature Review. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019 16 (4) 560. doi:10.3390/ijerph16040560

摘要

In their review, Kownacki et al. showed some practical and easy to use workplace heat indices that are useful for indoor environments, namely the “Wet Bulb Globe Temperature” (WBGT), the “Predicted Heat Strain” (PHS) model, the “Thermal Work Limit” (TWL), the “Equivalent Temperature” (ET) and the thermal comfort index “PMV/PPD”. In this letter, the authors explain why the modified PMV/PPD method together with the indices combining temperature with humidity, such as the “Humidex Index” and the “Heat Index”, could be a more feasible and useful tool for evaluating potential thermal stress in indoor environments for both the occupational and general population.