Vital Signs: Confronting the Elephant in the Stairwell



				QUESTIONS Is there a single heating system that is distributing uniform temperatures throughout the building? Is there any significant temperature stratification within the enclosed stairwell that would make some levels more comfortable than others? Is heating the stairwells even necessary for a) thermal comfort or b) the overall building climate control? HYPOTHESIS Mechanical heating of the central stairwell in Lawrence Hall results in temperatures significantly higher than those required to provide thermal comfort to people using this space. *Our definition of thermal comfort will be based upon factors of activity (met units) and clothing level (Clo), as defined in MEEB (see Analysis for further explanation).