Regulating clothing is one of the most obvious
behavioural responses to changing thermal conditions. The extent of clothing,
in turn, affects thermal sensation and acceptability. A lack of extensive
thermal comfort field studies in India has meant that there has been very
limited data on clothing related occupant behaviour in Indian offices until
now. The paper aims to understand clothing norms and practices in Indian offices
using data gathered via an extensive field study of thermal comfort in India. It
uses the occupants’ response to thermal sensation, acceptability and preference
questions as experienced “right here, right now” from more than 6000 surveys together
with simultaneous measurement of environmental conditions, clothing and
metabolic activity. These surveys were administered in five climate zones
across three seasons in air-conditioned, naturally ventilated and mixed mode
buildings. The paper analyses clothing insulation as a behavioural response to
changes in the environment. the variation in clothing insulation with observed
indoor and outdoor temperature is analysed for different seasons, building
types and cities. The study also examines the extent of behavioural regulation
in clothing between the male and female office workers. The results suggest that
women tend to wear lower clothing insulation on an average in summer compared
to men. In naturally ventilated and mixed mode buildings, variability in
clothing insulation was higher compared to air-conditioned buildings,
emphasizing the role of clothing as an adaptive measure.