New methods to help keep building occupants comfortable are contained in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers' (ASHRAE) thermal comfort standard.
ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2004, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, provides a simple method of compliance for commonly-designed space types, a calculation method that applies to a broader range of space types, and a new adaptive method for naturally ventilated spaces in certain climate areas.
The standard specifies the combinations of indoor thermal environmental factors and personal factors that will produce thermal environmental conditions acceptable to a majority of the occupants within the space.