States that when designing comfortable workspaces, traditional design criteria such as dry-bulb temperature and operative temperature are not always sufficient Using the predicted mean vote (PMV) as the design parameter makes it evident what system should be used to condition the space. Describes projects which show that the mean radiant temperature has a large influence on the comfort results. Concludes that the application of radiant heating and cooling panels would provide an optimal solution to the conditioning of the space within comfort limits (PMV plus or minus 0.5).

KEYWORDS: year 1996, Thermal comfort, radiant heating, radiant cooling, workplaces, calculating, radiant panels