Effects of window views on thermal comfort and health during moderate and high intensity exercise: A summer field experiment

Abstract

Window views have been demonstrated to benefit physical and mental health of indoor personnels in office, so as to enhance their productivity. Whether window views have similar positive effects on indoor sports personnels is also worth exploring. This study conducted a summer field experiment in two gyms with and without window views to evaluate these effects. Twenty participants were required to walk on treadmills set to 4.5 km/h and 6 km/h to simulate moderate and high intensity exercise. Physiological parameters and psychological assessment were recorded during the experiment. The results indicate that when engaging in moderate and high intensity exercises, window views have positive effect on thermal response, with an improvement of 0.31 in thermal comfort ratings, along with a decrease of 0.29 in thermal sensation ratings. Furthermore, window views contribute to participants’ health during exercise, with reduction of 10.42 % and 8.28 % in dizziness, decreases of 4.04 % and 2.52 % in fatigue degrees for moderate and high intensity exercise respectively. In terms of emotions, the positive emotions were influenced more by dynamic mirror vision than natural views in exercise. The results of the study prove the positive effects of window views on indoor personnel’s thermal response and health during moderate and high intensity exercise. This study is beneficial to enrich theoretical research in dynamic thermal comfort and also provides a scientific basis to satisfy the demands of different application requirements of architectural design.