This is a legacy version of the WELL Building Standard. Please check the latest version here.

Comfort

Comfort

The WELL Building Standard for Comfort establishes requirements designed to create distraction-free, productive and comfortable indoor environments.

Background

The indoor environment should be a place of comfort. In pursuit of that vision, the WELL Building Standard® focuses on significantly reducing the most common sources of physiological disruption, distraction and irritation and on enhancing acoustic, ergonomic, olfactory and thermal comfort to prevent stress and injury and facilitate comfort, productivity and well-being.

Built environments can harbor sounds that are distracting and disruptive to work or relaxation. Employee surveys show that acoustic problems are a leading source of dissatisfaction within the environmental conditions of an office. As acoustic comfort is determined in part by the physical properties and contents of environments, the WELL Building Standard aims to shape spaces to mitigate unwanted indoor noise levels and reduce exterior noise intrusion in order to enhance social interaction, learning, satisfaction and productivity. While noise is ubiquitous, we are able to adopt policies, technologies and practices that ensure quieter acoustical environments and minimize our exposure to harmful and unnecessary sound.

In addition to acoustic comfort, ergonomics and universal design play a significant role in mitigating physical and mental stress. Most of the adverse health effects related to ergonomics are seen in the musculoskeletal and nervous systems of the human body. Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), including low back pain, neck pain, osteoarthritis and others are extremely common in nearly all populations. Low back pain affects about 31 million Americans, and 380,600 days of work were missed in 2013 because of musculoskeletal disorders, accounting for one third of the total number of days away from work. The statistics are similar worldwide and in 2010, nearly 7% (more than 169 million) of all disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) resulted from musculoskeletal disorders. The WELL Building Standard promotes comprehensive ergonomics solutions that help prevent stress and injury and facilitate comfort and well-being. These design strategies not only provide access for people with limited mobility, but also prevent injury by encouraging navigable spaces for everyone.

Thermal comfort is another factor that plays a large role in the way we experience places where we live and work. In 2006, only 11% of the office buildings surveyed in the U.S. provided thermal environments that met generally accepted goals of occupant satisfaction. Six primary personal and environmental variables contribute to an occupant’s thermal comfort: air speed, dry bulb temperature, radiant temperature, humidity, metabolic rate and clothing or other insulation, all of which interact to create a subjective, individualized response. Finally, in addition to the measurable metrics, there are also psychological parameters such as individual expectations that may also affect thermal comfort. This makes thermal comfort subjective, meaning that not everyone will be equally comfortable under the same conditions. The WELL Building Standard takes a holistic approach to thermal comfort and provides a combination of strategies to address occupant issues.

72 ADA accessible design standards

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: ADA Regulations P P P

73 Ergonomics: visual and physical

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Visual Ergonomics - P P
2: Desk Height Flexibility - P P
3: Seat Flexibility - P P

74 Exterior noise intrusion

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Sound Pressure Level P O P

75 Internally generated noise

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Acoustic Planning - P P
2: Mechanical Equipment Sound Levels O P P

76 Thermal comfort

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Ventilated Thermal Environment P P P
2: Natural Thermal Adaptation P P P

77 Olfactory comfort

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Source Separation - O O

78 Reverberation time

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Reverberation Time - O O

79 Sound masking

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Sound Masking Use - O O
2: Sound Masking Limits - O O

80 Sound reducing surfaces

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Ceilings - O O
2: Walls - O O

81 Sound barriers

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Wall Construction Specifications - O O
2: Doorway Specifications - O O
3: Wall Construction Methodology - O O

82 Individual thermal control

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Free Address - O O
2: Personal Thermal Comfort Devices - O O

83 Radiant thermal comfort

Core & Shell New & Existing Interiors New & Existing Buildings
1: Lobbies and Other Common Public Spaces O - O
2: Offices and Other Regularly Occupied Spaces - O O

72 ADA accessible design standards

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: ADA Regulations P P - P P

73 Ergonomics: visual and physical

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: Visual Ergonomics - P - - -
3: Seat Flexibility - P - - -
4: Standing Support P P - P P

74 Exterior noise intrusion

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: Sound Pressure Level O - - O O
2: Sound Pressure Level in Residences - - O - -
3: Acoustical Narrative O P O O -
4: Sound Pressure Level in Schools - P - - -

75 Internally generated noise

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: Acoustic Planning P P - P P
2: Mechanical Equipment Sound Levels - P - - -
3: Mechanical Equipment Sound Levels in Sensitive Rooms - - O - -
4: Best-Practice HVAC Installation - - O - -
5: HVAC Sound Ratings - - O - -
6: Noise Criteria in Schools - P - - -
7: Disruptive Music Limitation - - - P -

76 Thermal comfort

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: Ventilated Thermal Environment P P P P P
2: Natural Thermal Adaptation P P P P P
3: Thermal Comfort in the Kitchen P - - - -

77 Olfactory comfort

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: Source Separation O O - O O

78 Reverberation time

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
2: Reverberation Time for Learning Spaces - O - - -

80 Sound reducing surfaces

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
3: School Ceilings - O - - -

81 Sound barriers

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
2: Doorway Specifications - O - - -
3: Wall Construction Methodology - O O O -
4: Noise Intrusion Mitigation - - O O -
5: Residential Acoustic Privacy - - O - -
6: Wall Construction Specifications for Schools - O - - -

82 Individual thermal control

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
2: Personal Thermal Comfort Devices O O - O O

83 Radiant thermal comfort

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: Lobbies and Other Common Public Spaces - O O O -
2: Offices and Other Regularly Occupied Spaces - O - O -

P4 Impact reducing flooring

Commercial Kitchen Education Multifamily Residential Restaurant Retail
1: Floor Construction - O O - -