Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}}
Room temperature, colloquially, denotes the range of air temperatures most people find comfortable indoors while dressed in typical clothing. Comfortable temperatures can be extended beyond this range depending on humidity, air circulation, and other factors.
In certain fields, like science and engineering, and within a particular context, room temperature can mean different agreed-upon ranges. In contrast, ambient temperature is the actual temperature, as measured by a thermometer, of the air (or other medium and surroundings) in any particular place. The ambient temperature (e.g. an unheated room in winter) may be very different from an ideal room temperature.
Food and beverages may be served at "room temperature", meaning neither heated nor cooled.
Comfort temperaturesEdit
{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Comfort temperature is interchangeable with neutral temperature in the scientific literature, which can be calculated through regression analysis between thermal sensation votes and indoor temperature. The neutral temperature is the solution of the resulting regression model by setting the thermal sensation vote as zero. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language identifies room temperature as around Template:Cvt,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> while the Oxford English Dictionary states that it is "conventionally taken as about Template:Cvt".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, Third Edition, November 2010), sub-entry at room.</ref>
Ideal room temperature varies vastly depending on the surrounding climate. Studies from Indonesia have shown that the range of comfortable temperature is Template:Convert for local residents.<ref name="IndonesiaTemperature">Template:Cite journal</ref> Studies from Nigeria show a comfortable temperature range of Template:Convert, comfortably cool Template:Convert and comfortably warm Template:Convert.<ref name="Analysis of thermal comfort in Lagos, Nigeria">Template:Cite journal</ref> A field study conducted in Hyderabad, India returned a comfort band of Template:Convert with a mean of Template:Cvt.<ref name="Hyderabad">Template:Cite journal</ref> A study conducted in Jaipur, India among healthy young men showed that the neutral thermal comfort temperature was analyzed to be Template:Cvt, although a range of Template:Convert was found.<ref name="Jaipur">Template:Cite journal</ref>
People are highly sensitive to even small differences in environmental temperature. At Template:Cvt, a difference of Template:Cvt can be detected between the temperature of two rooms.<ref name="Battistel Vilardi Zampini Parin 2023 p.">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Owing to variations in humidity and (likely) clothing, recommendations for summer and winter may vary; a suggestedTemplate:By whom typical range for summer is Template:Cvt, with that for winter being Template:Cvt.<ref name="airQuality">Template:Cite book</ref> Some studies have suggested that thermal comfort preferences of men and women may differ significantly, with women on average preferring higher ambient temperatures.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
In the recent past, it was common for house temperatures to be kept below the comfort level; a 1978 UK study found average indoor home temperatures to be Template:Cvt while Japan in 1980 had median home temperatures of Template:Cvt to Template:Cvt.<ref name="Mavrogianni Johnson Ucci Marmot 2021 p.">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Rooms may be maintained at an ambient temperature above the comfort temperature in hot weather, or below it in cold weather, if required by cost considerations or practical issues (e.g. lack of air conditioning or relatively high expense of heating.)
In the UK, the Offices, Shops and Railway Premises Act 1963 provides for a minimum temperature in commercial premises, but not for a maximum temperature.
Health effectsEdit
The World Health Organization in 1987 found that comfortable indoor temperatures of Template:Convert were not associated with health risks for healthy adults with appropriate clothing, humidity, and other factors. For infants, elderly, and those with significant health problems, a minimum of Template:Convert was recommended. Temperatures lower than Template:Convert with humidity above 65% were associated with respiratory hazards including allergies.<ref name="WHO 1990">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
The WHO's 2018 guidelines give a strong recommendation that a minimum of Template:Convert is a "safe and well-balanced indoor temperature to protect the health of general populations during cold seasons". A higher minimum temperature may be necessary for vulnerable groups including children, the elderly, and people with cardiorespiratory disease and other chronic illnesses. However, the recommendation regarding risk of exposure to high indoor temperatures is only "conditional". Minimal-risk high temperatures range from about Template:Convert depending on the region, with maximum acceptable temperatures between Template:Convert.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Definitions in science and industryEdit
Temperature ranges are defined as room temperature for certain products and processes in industry, science, standards, and consumer goods. For instance, for the shipping and storage of pharmaceuticals, the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary (USP-NF) defines controlled room temperature as between Template:Convert, with excursions between Template:Convert allowed, provided the mean kinetic temperature does not exceed Template:Convert.<ref name="USP 2017">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The European Pharmacopoeia defines it as being simply Template:Convert, and the Japanese Pharmacopeia defines "ordinary temperature" as Template:Convert, with room temperature being Template:Convert.<ref name="ECA 2017">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=Chow2007a>Template:Cite book</ref> Merriam-Webster gives as a medical definition a range of Template:Convert as being suitable for human occupancy, and at which laboratory experiments are usually performed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
Template:Reflist Template:Refbegin Template:Cite q Template:Refend