Elderly people thermal sensation with three local cooling devices in warm conditions

Global warming and frequent heat waves negatively impact people's health and comfort, especially the elderly with poor thermal regulation. This study recruited 26 elderly people and offered three cooling devices (fan, air-cooled jacket, and evaporative cooling fan) to explore the influence of different local cooling devices on thermal sensation. It was studied in various warm conditions with and without local cooling. The study indicated that except for the fan's poor performance at 32°C and 33°C, using the three devices can reduce the thermal sensation to roughly ±0.5. All three devices enhanced thermal acceptability, but the differences between devices were not significant. The study also found that the elderly's neutral air temperature was 26.4 ° C without using devices, and that a thermal sensation over 1.5 caused thermal unacceptable. After using three local cooling devices, the neutral air temperature and unacceptable thermal sensation value increased.