Latest Newsfrom Airedale Cooling

Air Conditioning Unit

What is the Optimal Air Conditioning Temperature?

December 21st, 2018 by Airedale Cooling

Air Conditioning Temperature - Airedale Cooling Services

Air conditioning can keep your office or commercial premises a comfortable temperature all year round. However, finding out what exactly constitutes a ‘comfortable’ temperature for your employees can be trickier than it first appears, depending on factors such as an individual’s gender and weight, as well as the season and humidity. Your best option is to do your research and find a happy medium. So, let’s take a look at some of the factors which will influence setting the right temperature for your air con.

Season

It might surprise you to know that our ideal temperature doesn’t stay the same over the course of the year, instead, it changes according to the season. So, you should bear in mind that you’ll need to change the temperature settings of your thermostat to match the seasons. Obviously you should tailor your office temperature according to employee feedback but, as a general starting point, 22-24°C in summer months and 17-19°C in winter months is the norm.

Characteristics

Everyone will have slight differences in preference when it comes to their comfort levels but there are a few attributes which have a proven effect. Some of the main influential factors include sex, age and weight. You may have noticed anecdotal evidence of these in your own office – for example, have you ever noticed it’s more likely to be women who feel the cold and put their coats on in the office? This is because women tend to prefer a warmer environment. One study found that due to women having lower metabolic rates than men, they prefer ambient temperatures around 3°C warmer.

Many building managers use a standard formula developed in the 60s to settle a building’s temperature. Now although this accounts for factors like clothing and metabolic rate, it relies on an average office worker to calculate, and this ‘average’ worker is classed as a 40 year old, 70 kg man. So, if this description doesn’t suit your workforce, you may find more tweaking and tailoring is needed to suit your employees.

Energy usage

As a business, we realise you’ll want to keep costs down wherever possible and the energy usage of your air conditioning system will be no exception. To use your air con as efficiently as possible, you should utilise good old-fashioned trial and error and the timer function.

Firstly, you should use some trial and error to discover what temperature your employees feel comfortable at. For example, in the summer you might start setting your system at 23°C but then raise this by 1°C a week until you and your employees feel it is getting too warm. For every degree you raise your air conditioning, you can save 3-5% on your utilities bill.

Secondly, by using the timer function effectively, you’ll ensure you’re not cooling your office and expending energy unnecessarily. For example, you may set the air conditioning to come on 15-20 minutes before the office opens so it has time to cool down before your employees arrive, and to turn off 15-20 minutes before it closes.

 

Airedale Cooling Services are air conditioning experts who can offer a wide variety of high quality, efficient air conditioning systems to clients in Bradford and throughout Yorkshire. With over 30 years’ experience and a skilled team of highly trained, F Gas qualified engineers, we can offer a high standard of workmanship across all installations, maintenance and repair work. For more information about our products or services, contact our helpful team today.

This website uses cookies to enhance your browsing experience and deliver personalised ads. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyse site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

More Information Accept All Cookies