适应性假设预测，环境因素和过去的热历史会改变建筑使用者的热期望和偏好。适应性假说的一个预测是，与生活在寒冷气候区的人相比，生活在温暖气候区的人更喜欢温暖的室内温度。这与现行ASHRAE舒适性标准55-92的静态假设相反。为了检验适应性假设及其对标准55-92的影响，ASHRAE RP-884项目根据全球热舒适现场试验（约21000次来自160栋建筑的观测）建立了一个质量控制数据库。 我们的统计分析从热感觉、可接受性和偏好等方面考察了热舒适的语义，并将其作为室内和室外温度的函数。最佳室内温度跟踪了自适应假设预测的主要室内和室外温度。通过考虑行为调整，静态预测平均投票（PMV）模型显示出部分适应性，并充分解释了暖通空调建筑中发生的适应性。自然通风建筑中的居住者能够承受更大范围的温度，这是行为调整和心理适应的综合结果。 这些结果构成了可变室内温度标准提案的基础。引文:研讨会，ASHRAE交易，1998年，第104卷，pt。1A，旧金山

The adaptive hypothesis predicts that contextual factors and past thermal history modify building occupants' thermal expectations and preferences. One of the predictions of the adaptive hypothesis is that people in warm climate zones prefer warmer indoor temperatures than people living in cold climate zones. This is contrary to the static assumptions underlying the current ASHRAE comfort standard 55-92. To examine the adaptive hypothesis and its implications for Standard 55-92, the ASHRAE RP-884 project assembled a quality-controlled database from thermal comfort field experiments worldwide (circa 21,000 observations from 160 buildings). Our statistical analysis examined the semantics of thermal comfort in terms of thermal sensation, acceptability, and preference, as a function of both indoor and outdoor temperature. Optimum indoor temperatures tracked both prevailing indoor and outdoor temperatures, as predicted by the adaptive hypothesis. The static predicted means vote (PMV) model was shown to be partially adaptive by accounting for behavioral adjustments, and fully explained adaptation occurring in HVAC buildings. Occupants in naturally ventilated buildings were tolerant of a significantly wider range of temperatures, explained by a combination of both behavioral adjustment and psychological adaptation. These results formed the basis of a proposal for a variable indoor temperature standard.