Thermal comfort in building design has often been approached with a one-size-fits-all mentality, disregarding the diverse needs of occupants. The recent study by the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, titled "Development of climate-based thermal comfort ranges from existing data: Analysis of the Smart Controls and thermal comfort (SCATS) database," looks instead at the diversity of users' expectations.

The study analyses the Smart Controls and Thermal Comfort (SCATS) database, created from monitoring and surveys across five European countries in the late '90s. The study objective was to uncover how geographical and climatic locations, seasonal variations, subjective factors, and ventilation modes affect occupants' thermal comfort and preferences.

The study has been conducted within the EU H2020 Cultural-E project funded from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.