Investigating the impact of indoor wood element combinations on human subjective thermal perception in cold region using virtual reality technology

Abstract Wooden materials can influence the human body’s thermal perception of indoor environments through visual stimuli, particularly in cold regions. Optimizing the allocation of indoor wood elements has the potential to conserve resources, reduce emissions, and enhance quality of life. This study investigated how different combinations of indoor wood elements affect human thermal perception in cold regions by using virtual reality to simulate various living room environments. The participants experienced a living room environment with different wood element configurations and reported their subjective thermal perceptions. The results revealed that the coverage and natural color of wood significantly affect thermal perception, with natural color having the most substantial influence. In contrast to conventional beliefs, increasing wood coverage does not consistently increase warmth. Notably, yellow-white wood tones evoke a greater sense of warmth than other warm tones do, challenging established views on warm tone applications. These findings offer new perspectives on the use of wood in indoor environmental design.