Let's talk scalability: The current status of multi-domain thermal comfort models as support tools for the design of office buildings

Thermal comfort models can be used to gain insight into important building design variables and predict whether a given design will provide satisfactory thermal conditions. There is a need for better industry standards and awareness towards thermal comfort as a multi-domain construct is increasing. However, despite the research efforts of academics, research outcomes in the field of thermal comfort do not live up to their full potential because they are difficult to scale. In this review, scalability is presented as a construct which characterizes the ability of a thermal comfort model to aid in the understanding and prediction of thermal comfort conditions in real-world practice, and more specifically the design of office buildings. A literature search of recent scientific publications is conducted, resulting in 77 articles on multi-domain thermal comfort modelling. The scoping review identifies current scalability challenges associated with implementing existing thermal comfort models in practice and seeks to steer the research field towards generating more reliable models that contribute to the assessment of thermal comfort in office buildings, with particular focus on the design stage. We propose to do that by identifying potential avenues for future research that are related to several aspects of model scalability, namely, model scope, resolution, and portability.