A dataset from a coordinated multi-site laboratory study investigating the Hue-Heat-Hypothesis
Understanding cross-modal environmental perception is essential for improving occupant well-being and human-centric building design. This paper presents an open-access, multi-site database developed under the IEA-EBC Annex 79 project to test the Hue-Heat Hypothesis (HHH), which hypothesizes that light hue may influence thermal perceptions. The database comprises 543 experimental rounds conducted in eight laboratories across six countries and diverse climate zones, following a shared, rigorously designed protocol. During summer and winter campaigns, participants were exposed to controlled thermal environments and counterbalanced lighting conditions (neutral, reddish, bluish). The database includes detailed metadata on environmental variables, physiological measurements (i.e., heart rate and skin temperature), and self-reported perceptual responses. It also provides standardized technical documentation for each test room, including the detailed experimental protocol and translated survey instruments. All materials are available on the Open Science Framework under the "Multi-site Hue-Heat-Hypothesis Testing" repository. This resource supports research into multi-domain human comfort, enabling analysis of cross-modal and combined effects on human perception and physiological reactions.
Authors
- Lorenzo Belussi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1341-0602)
- Francesco Salamone (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3215-3979)
- Peiman Pilechiha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1396-6969)
- Ludovico Danza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3305-4008)
- Roberto Lamberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6801-671X)
- Liége Garlet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1707-771X)
- Mateus Bavaresco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6533-2039)
- Zsófia Deme Bélafi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7117-9170)
- Anna Laura Pisello (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4527-6444)
- Verônica Martins Gnecco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5473-5075)
- Balázs Vince Nagy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8489-7200)
- Bing Dong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1603-9738)
- Hamidreza Karimian
- Mohamed M. Ouf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6827-269X)
- Roberta Jacoby Cureau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0288-8440)
- Ilaria Pigliautile (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3128-4627)
- Edit Barna
- Giorgia Chinazzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0842-8493)
- Marcel Schweiker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3906-4688)
- Ana Paula Melo
- Xingtong Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2984-7841)
- Natasha Hansen Gapski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3757-9859)
- Brenda da Costa Loeser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3931-5803)
- Shichao Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0642-9700)
- Zhipeng Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4729-2026)
- Agnese Chiucchiù
- Camilla Massucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3076-8104)
Institutions
- University of Central Florida (US)
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute (US)
- Northwestern University (US)
- University of Perugia (IT)
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics (HU)
- Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (BR)
- Construction Technologies Institute (IT)
- Concordia University (CA)
- Syracuse University (US)
- RWTH Aachen University (DE)
- University for Foreigners Perugia (IT)
- Technical University of Denmark (DK)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Data
- Published
- 2025-09-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05962-1
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Building Energy and Comfort Optimization
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.01