Research of Temperature and Moisture during Sitting on Office Chairs

When using an office chair, a person comes into direct contact with the seat, where the contact surface creates a microclimate that affects the person’s positive or negative mood, depending on temperature and humidity. Relative to temperature and moisture, this microclimate may produce either a positive or a negative effect on a seated person. Foam based padding of seats and backrests have upholstery with insulating properties that prevent the escape of bodily heat and moisture. The present work, carried out with six subjects, was aimed at studying temperature and moisture as the contributing factors to sitting comfort during performance of usual tasks under controlled conditions. The study method employed temperature and moisture measurements on five different office chairs using the probes placed on or in the seats. The statistically evaluated results of objective measurements show significant differences in distribution of temperature and moisture among the tested seats and through different layers of padding materials and upholstery of individual seats. Generally, it may be concluded that the temperature on the seat surface is always higher than inside the seat. On the other hand, humidity is always lower on the seat surface. Temperature and moisture on the surface of moulded foam seats are higher than on other kinds of seats.