Effective temperature
From Glossary of Meteorology
effective temperature
- The temperature at which motionless saturated air would induce, in a sedentary worker wearing ordinary indoor clothing, the same sensation of comfort as that induced by the actual conditions of temperature, humidity, and air movement. Effective temperature is used as a guide in air-conditioning practice, and, on the comfort chart (American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers), it appears as a family of curves that serves as one coordinate in defining comfort zones.
- In phenology, the temperature at which plants, especially cereals, begin to grow; generally about 0°C (32°F), for example, winter wheat, to 7°–10°C (45°–50°F), for example, maize.
See degree-day.
- With respect to radiation, the blackbody temperature that would yield the same amount of radiation as that emitted.
The effective temperature of the earth as a whole is about 254 K, corresponding to an average emittance of 236 W m-2.
