Setting the air conditioning too high in an office is not only irresponsible from an energy use standpoint, it also degrades employee productivity.
There is strong data to back that premise. The director of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory at Cornell University pointed to a study that found offices with temperatures in the low 70s reduced the output of employees and led to increased mistakes.
The study measured the number of keystrokes employees typed in an office. In a 78F environment, workers produced more than twice as many keystrokes as those in a 70-degree environment. Productivity rose along with temperature in a linear fashion into the high 70s. It began to drop when temperatures reached the mid-80s.
The cold is distracting, with people doing things like rubbing their hands together for warmth. This issue may be impacted by the increased popularity of lighter, more casual wear in the office. De facto cooling temperature standards of 68F to 72F were established in the 1960s when business suits were the dominant office attire.
Related Stories
| Mar 8, 2012
Engineering innovation provides new option for meeting seismic codes in skyscrapers
Two University of Toronto engineers have developed “viscoelastic-energy-dissipating dampers” to replace many of the heavy concrete beams used in tall structures.
| Mar 8, 2012
CSI webinar on building code compliance March 22
A March 22 webinar will provide an overview of a 28-step process during the design of a building to ensure compliance with building codes.
| Mar 8, 2012
Federal silica dust rule caught in bureaucratic limbo
A federal rule meant to protect the lungs of workers has been caught in bureaucratic purgatory for more than a year.
| Mar 8, 2012
New LEED-EBOM rating has requirements for specific project types
Several key changes are proposed for the LEED-EBOM Rating System in 2012.
| Mar 8, 2012
Green buildings more resilient than conventionally built structures
A new study by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning suggests that structures built to green standards can advance building resiliency.
| Mar 1, 2012
LEED Platinum standard likely to mean net-zero energy by 2018
As LEED standards continue to rise, the top level, LEED Platinum, will likely mean net-zero energy construction by 2018.
| Mar 1, 2012
EPA beefs up stormwater discharge rule from construction projects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has now finalized its 2012 construction general permit (CGP) that authorizes stormwater discharges from construction projects that disturb one or more acres of land in the areas where EPA is the permitting authority.
| Mar 1, 2012
Regulators investigate structural failures during construction of two Ohio casinos
Regulators with the Occupational Safety & Health Administration and the city of Cincinnati are investigatingthe collapse of the second floor of Cincinnati's Horseshoe Casino as workers were pouring concrete.