Thermostat Battles: Finding Comfort, Enhancing Performance, and Saving Money

No matter what time of year it is, there’s an ongoing and sneaky battle happening in offices all across the country. This conflict is so widespread that it even has a name—the Thermostat Wars. While it may not seem as important as issues like poverty or drugs, it’s still a source of contention because it affects millions of office workers every single day.

A Struggle that’s All Too Real

Back in 2009, the International Facilities Management Association (PDF) conducted a survey with over 400 of its members. The results showed that the top two complaints were related to office temperatures: either it was too hot or too cold.

Hey, take a look at this chart! It’s pretty interesting. See how the categories for too cold and too hot are almost equal? That means that someone in the workplace is uncomfortable almost every day, and it can make it difficult for them to do their work.

It’s Not Your Fault

A lot of people have talked about the Thermostat Wars. It’s been going on for decades, with men turning the temperature down and women turning it back up. But here’s a fun fact for you: Nature and Climate Change published a study that found something interesting. The regulations we have for indoor climate are based on an old model from the 1960s. The values they use to determine comfort are based on an average man, and they might overestimate a woman’s comfort by up to 35 percent. Crazy, right?

According to The New York Times, they used to figure out the average temperature in offices based on the fact that the average man is 40 years old and weighs about 154 pounds. But now things have changed. The CDC says that in recent years, the average man over 20 years old weighs about 195 pounds, and the average woman weighs about 166 pounds.

So, because of these changes, both men and women are arguing about what the temperature should be in the office. But have you thought about how this arguing affects your business?

The biggest problem with arguing about the thermostat is that it makes us less productive

You might think that arguing about the thermostat is just a problem with how happy employees are, but the truth is, being too hot or too cold at work can really mess up how much work we get done. So, if you’re trying to save money by setting the thermostat lower, you might actually be losing money because people aren’t getting as much done as they could be.

Do you ever wonder what to do when you’re not sure how to control the thermostat? Did you know there was a study by Cornell University that found something interesting about room temperature? According to the study, when the temperature in a room is below 68 degrees, employees tend to make 44 percent more mistakes. That’s a lot! So if you want to be more productive, try setting the temperature to around 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

But wait, there’s more! The same Cornell study also discovered that setting the temperature at a comfortable level for everyone can actually save money. On average, it can save about $2.00 per worker per hour. That’s a good amount of money! It can even help save up to 12.5 percent of the wage costs. So not only does it make people more comfortable, but it also saves money.

Here’s How You Can Win the Thermostat Battle

Now that we know a little bit about the study, let’s talk about some strategies you can use to bring peace to the thermostat wars in your office. These strategies have been proven to work, so give them a try!

Let’s work together to find the perfect temperature for our workplace. When people have control over the temperature, they tend to feel more comfortable. So, why not ask everyone in the office about their preferred temperature and find a middle ground that we can all agree on? If our main goal is to save energy, we might have to give up a little bit of comfort.

According to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Inc. (ASHRAE), the ideal temperatures for year-round settings are 68°F for heating and 78°F for cooling. These settings help us save the most energy. However, if we want to strike a balance between saving energy and keeping everyone comfortable, we can set the thermostat to 70°F for heating and 76°F for cooling.

Want to try out some new high-tech thermostats? You’ve probably heard about those fancy smart thermostats with built-in motion sensors that automatically adjust the temperature based on how the room is being used. Well, let me introduce you to two innovative solutions: Comfy and CrowdComfort.

Comfy is a super cool smartphone app that can send a burst of hot or cold air to a specific area whenever it’s needed. Imagine having the power to control the temperature right at your fingertips! With Comfy, you can do just that.

Now, let’s talk about CrowdComfort. This smart technology empowers people like you to make temperature complaints straight from your smartphones. So, if you’re feeling too hot or too cold, just tap on the app and let your voice be heard!

What’s really neat about these technologies is that you can customize them to your liking. For example, you can set it up so that the temperature only adjusts if two or more people complain within 10 minutes. It’s like having a thermostat that listens to the crowd!

But wait, why is all this high-tech stuff important? Well, let’s be real—Thermostat Wars aren’t going away anytime soon. We all have different preferences when it comes to temperature, and that’s okay. However, if we focus on having clear and open communication about what temperatures work best for everyone, we can actually save energy and boost productivity.

So, let’s embrace the future and give these smart thermostats a try. Who knows, they might just make the temperature battles a thing of the past!