Thermal Environment evaluation in Commercial kitchens: Procedure of data collection

The indoor climate in commercial kitchens is often unsatisfactory and the working conditions can have a significant effect on employees’ comfort and productivity. The type (fast food, casual, etc.) and climatic zone can influence the thermal conditions in the kitchens. Moreover, size and arrangement of the kitchen zones, appliances, etc., complicate further an evaluation of the indoor thermal environment in kitchens. In general, comfort criteria are expressed in international standards such as ASHRAE 55 or ISO EN7730. But are these standardised methods applicable for such environments as commercial kitchens? There is therefore a need to study the indoor environment in commercial kitchens and to establish standardized methods and procedures for setting criteria that have to be met for the
design and operation of kitchens. The present paper introduces a data collection protocol based on physical and subjective parameters. Measurements showed weak and strong points of the procedure in order to evaluate the thermal comfort environment in commercial kitchens and its acceptability.