Learnings from the extreme thermal comfort adaptation of Jain ascetics during the summer and the monsoon months in India
Jay Dhariwal*, Sonal Gangrade, Payal Dhariwal
IIT Delhi, New Delhi, India
DOI: 10.62744/CATE.45273.1150-111-120
Email: jay@design.iitd.ac.in
Abstract:
Heat waves are rising in intensity and frequency. They could break the human survivability limit in India in the coming years. The goal of this paper is to understand the extreme thermal comfort adaptation of ascetics from Jain Svetambara sects in hot and dry as well as warm and humid weather in India to help the vulnerable populations beat the heat. A total of 65 subjects were interviewed in Delhi, Jodhpur, Siriyari and Ahmedabad between May and September 2023. Surveys were carried out with measurements of the indoor environment according to the adaptive thermal comfort methodology. Around 75% of the subjects had a neutral or a cooler thermal sensation while the thermal comfort index, UTCI, was in the strong to very strong heat stress range. Ninety percent of the subjects found these thermal environments to be acceptable. Two-third of the subjects preferred no change in the humid conditions when more than 50% of them acknowledged the presence of higher humidity in their indoor environment. An adaptive thermal comfort model proposed in this study suggests that it is possible to go beyond the IMAC-R model to further reduce the cooling needs of the warming world.
Keywords: adaptive thermal comfort, ascetics, UTCI, health and wellness, IMAC-R