The purpose of this work is to add to the understanding of the complex human body and its functions with the aid of the physical laws of nature. Here, we reveal the influence that the environmental temperature has on a person’s ability to do work, which in turn affects the nation’s ability to produce goods and services to contribute to the advancement of the nation’s economy. The implementation of the Second Law of Thermodynamics to the human body predicts that the useful work per person in moderate, temperate climates is more than that in extreme hot or frigid climates. The availability of comfortable environments for the labor force in temperate climate can foster workers’ productivity to an optimum level. Therefore, countries consume a high amount of energy to produce this optimum productive environment to increase the growth of services and products. An investigation of the cost of artificially producing a comfortable environment shows a higher cost of cooling over heating. In this study first, we evaluate the labor force’s productivity of 169 countries that have data available by measuring the total goods and services, which are produced per year through Gross Domestic Products per Capita (GDP) data. Secondly, a city from each country is randomly selected to represent the average mean temperature of these countries. The data shows that the predispositions of the countries where the climatic conditions are extremely hot or frigid have poorer labor force’s productivity than those with moderate, temperate climates. This finding add to our understanding of human beings; the fact that their behaviors and performances are affected by their environment; and how ultimately, our economic wellbeing is affected by physical factors such as the temperature.
Units: SI
Citation: ASHRAE Transactions, vol. 114, pt. 1, New York 2008
Product Details
- Published:
- 2008
- Number of Pages:
- 9
- File Size:
- 1 file , 1.2 MB
- Product Code(s):
- D-NY-08-054
