Top facts about office air con temperature

Creating a safe and comfortable work environment with the office air con is not only a “must-do” for every business, it’s also a way to improve office productivity. Whether you’re an employee or employer, you might want to consider the ABCs of office temperatures.

Office-based Australian companies rely on the productivity of their employees. Whether they are call centre agents, IT specialists, editors or directors, there is a common ground when it comes to the business productivity: create a safe and comfortable workplace.

While the first factor is enforced by strict procedures, guidelines and training, we’d like to focus our attention on the second one. On a physical (and even psychological level), an employee feels most comfortable when the office air con is set at the room temperature.

Here are the top facts about office air con temperature.

1) What is the recommended office air con temperature range?

As mentioned in the work health and safety legislation of Queensland, the office buildings should be capable of maintaining a temperature range that is comfortable and suitable to all employees.

It is generally accepted that optimal comfort for sedentary work is between 20°C and 26°C, depending on the time of year and seasonal weather conditions.

2) What are the health effects of “too high” or “too low” temperatures?

It’s a false belief that exposing yourself to air conditioning would give you a cold. Yet temperature affects productivity! Recent studies show that productivity can decrease by up to 20% if the temperature is so uncomfortable that it causes a distraction to the employee.

Outside the comfort range, there could be minor to major symptoms such as:

• Mental discomfort: increased irritability, efficiency and concentration loss
• Psychological discomfort: heavy load on heart and circulation or even fatigue and risk of exhaustion

3) What is the importance of the thermostat’s placement?

Some older buildings with out of date heating and cooling systems can have uneven results, same as an office might have two or more distinct climates under one roof.

As a matter of fact, poorly designed and maintained air conditioning systems could deliver too much heat or cold to one part of the office and not enough to other sides.

In order to overcome this issue, we advise you to repair or replace the office air con system and also check that the thermostat has not been located directly in the air flow from an air conditioning vent. This way, the heat or cold will be evenly dispersed and all employees will benefit from a comfortable environment throughout the office.

Lessons learned! Although these ABCs are the very basics of office temperatures and how to get them right, we are ready to move on with the rest of “the alphabet” to learn about, understand and overcome what is called nowadays “the office temperatures war”.

Contact Jaric Electrical for electrical work at your business

The expert team at Jaric Electrical can offer you the advice you need to plan your business’s air conditioning.

To find out more, call Jaric Electrical on 1300 452 742 or contact us online.