Understanding indoor thermal perception and comfort through multi-parameter environmental analysis

In the literature, thermal comfort in indoor environments has traditionally been addressed through single parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, radiant temperature, and air velocity. However, recent studies have shown that auditory and visual conditions also influence users’ thermal perception and comfort experience. This study adopts a holistic approach to examine how multiple physical environmental parameters affect thermal perception and comfort in educational spaces. The research was conducted in October 2025 in two studios and one classroom within the Department of Architecture at Adana Alparslan Türkeş Science and Technology University. Simultaneous surveys and environmental measurements were carried out with 74 participants. Measured parameters included temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, mean radiant temperature, sound pressure level, and horizontal and vertical illuminance. Participants’ thermal perception and comfort evaluations were collected using a seven-point Likert scale. Correlation analyses performed with SPSS 25 revealed that thermal perception was significantly associated with temperature, air velocity, and horizontal illuminance, while thermal comfort was correlated with temperature, relative humidity, and horizontal illuminance. These findings indicate that visual environmental factors, alongside classical thermal parameters, significantly influence indoor comfort. The study emphasises the need to consider multiple environmental parameters when designing educational spaces to develop user-oriented comfort strategies.