Importance of Temperature Control in Buildings asserted by Study
Air-conditioning and heating systems were at the centre of a study done by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The study suggests that operating buildings more energy efficiently could have health and safety benefits, as well as financial and environmental advantages. The researchers on the project, Mark Mendell and Anna Mirer, analysed data from 95 air conditioned offices in the Unites States that was originally collected by the Environmental Protection Agency. The temperature and humidity in offices were measured and office workers were asked to fill out a questionnaire to determine the different levels of comfort in summer and winter. The study found that many occupants were too cold in summer and that a proportion of the offices were too warm in winter owing to the overuse of heating and cooling systems.
Heating and cooling systems, such as portable air conditioners, are essential in most offices in the US to keep offices at comfortable temperatures during the extreme seasons. Keeping the environment at the correct temperature is also important for health, as the body functions optimally at a certain temperature.
The study done by the Department of Energy found that in summer, symptoms such as headaches, concentration problems and fatigue increased by 50% in buildings that were cooled below 23%; almost half of the buildings in the summer study were cooled at this temperature. In winter, most of the buildings were warmed to the recommended temperatures, although the study found that the higher range of recommended temperatures was still too warm, and that these resulted in increases in nose, eye and skin problems and headaches.
The study recommends the continued use of air conditioners but to use them moderately by keeping offices at the cooler end of the recommended temperatures spectrum in winter and by avoiding overcooling in summer to reduce building-related symptoms. This will keep office workers comfortable and will also save a huge amount of energy.
“As we look for ways to save energy, these results suggest a potential win-win situation,” said researcher, Mendell. “Our findings suggest that energy efficiency and keeping buildings healthy and comfortable for the occupants are not necessarily in conflict”.
The paper on Mendell and Mirer’s findings has been published in the online journal Indoor Air and is titled “Indoor Thermal Factors and Symptoms in Office Workers: Findings from the U.S. EPA BASE Study”.
