With outside temperatures finally starting to warm up, chances are you’ll probably start to turn on your air conditioning systems in your office buildings. It seems it’s hard to please everyone with the right temperature, but did you know that office temperatures impact employees’ productivity? So are employees more productive in a warm office or a cool office? The answer may surprise you!
According to a Cornell University study, office workers are more productive in a warm environment, with temperatures ranging between 70 and 73 degrees. Conversely, productivity takes a hit when the temperature drops below 63 degrees or climbs above 82 degrees, significantly impacting workers’ ability to work.
The Cornell study also tracked productivity by documenting how long employees were using a keyboard and the frequency of errors. Office workstations were monitored with sensors sampling the air temperature every 15 minutes. “At 77 degrees, the workers were keyboarding 100 percent of the time with a 10 percent error rate, but at 68 degrees, their keying rate went down to 54 percent of the time with a 25 percent error rate.”
A second study, this one by the Helsinki University of Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, confirmed Cornell’s conclusion, finding employee productivity at its highest between 70 and 72 degrees. The higher the temperature beyond 75 degrees or below 70 degrees, the more that productivity drops.
Controlling Temperatures with Well-Maintained HVAC Systems
By performing preventive maintenance for your heating and air conditioning system, not only will you improve efficiency and reduce costs, but you can also better control office temperatures in your office. You could have air flow problems which cause hot and cold spots throughout a building. By ensuring your HVAC systems are maintained and tuned-up, you will benefit from uniform heating and cooling and less disparity between office temperatures.
To learn more about the Benefits of HVAC Maintenance, please contact Crockett Facilities Services Inc. (CFSI) by calling 202.600.2787 or email sales@crockett-facilities.com. CFSI provides 24/7 commercial mechanical and HVAC services throughout Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. So give us a call today to find out how our MSCA GreenSTAR certified service technicians can improve your HVAC performance and energy efficiency.
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