Workplace heating cap at 19oC anyone? "Danish Banks Hand Out Blankets as Offices Turn Down Heating" Rising energy prices and fear of blackouts have caused the Danish government to take drastic action and introduce a heating cap at 19oC in all government buildings and encourage private organisations to follow suit. The thermostat battle is one that everyone is familiar with - whether that be at the office or at home. However, this new rule is kicking things up a gear. How would you feel about a heating cap at 19oC? Comfort is a factor that seems to be neglected in the fight for a more sustainable approach to running our buildings. We might save on energy but what's the cost elsewhere? Did you know that the general rule of thumb is for every degree below 20oC, roughly 2% in productivity is lost and error rate increases. #energy #environment #comfort #ieq
We have around 19 degrees C in our home. When our teenaged kids complain my husband and I simply tell them to put on another sweater. If lowering the temperature to a reasonably comfortable 19 degrees helps us to no longer depend on fuels or countries we don't want to be dependent on - let's just do it.
Sort of necessary in the current crisis. A lot of people have already lowered their home thermostats to 19 degrees (I must admit ours is still 20, but we still delaying putting the heating on).
To your last point, we (ART Health Solutions) have found similarly that cognitive performance is consistently impaired when employees feel “cold”. What “cold” means might differ from person to person, but what holds true is that thermal comfort is required to support performance!
The problem I find with this is that it’s fine to be at 19 if you’re moving around, but a full time desk job means you’re sitting in one place all day, and therefore get colder. I find that my fingers get too cold, and even if I’m wrapped up warmly, I can’t type as well with freezing cold fingers, and you can’t wear gloves and use a keyboard. Not sure what the answer is, but I’d struggle in an office at 19.
I think that the challenge we face is how to balance rising energy costs and the necessity of managing heating costs with individual requirements. I absolutely see the benefits of setting the office temperature at 19deg, but as someone with Reinards - and someone who just feels the cold a lot generally - this would be a nightmare for me per se; and I know that my productivity would suffer. That said - I'm all for finding creative solutions; if we can have the office at 19deg and see the benefits that this brings, but I am able to manage my own experience with hot water bottle, blankets in the office etc then why not trial it? I also think that looking at other options - such as varying the temperature through the day; 21deg during "core hours" / 19deg earlier in the morning and later in the afternoon - could provide a solution that is more easily palatable for all. We need to make changes - the way in which we do so is the bigger question.
Our university is upholding this policy, with some flexibility depending on perceived temperature. I personally am more productive (subjectively speaking) when it is on the cool rather than on the warm side (as I must run hot)... so I guess I've landed in the right place, but hope that others won't suffer. ?? Nevertheless, good point on the alternative of closing the office/s one day per week! I have not heard whether the Danish government had considered this or not, nor our university.
Make it 17
A good conversation here, with sensible comments.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-22/blankets-for-bankers-as-danish-firms-turn-down-office-heating