Thermal Comfort Important Factor in Office Productivity

How many people in your office have a sweater or fan at their desk? With hundreds of employees on multiple floors, maintaining the right temperature at work is seemingly impossible because you can’t please everyone. That doesn’t mean building owners and managers should stop trying though. A study from the World Green Building Council found that worker productivity is directly impacted by thermal comfort. A cold office will reduce productivity by 4% while a warm office will reduce it by 6%.

Instead of setting the office temperature based on some monthly expense goal, office managers are turning towards adaptive comfort technology. Adaptive technology allows temperatures to drift down in winter and up in summer, resulting in lower energy consumption and longer periods of natural ventilation. That’s only possible with the right automated technology in place. Wireless sensor technology enables sophisticated monitoring and logging of temperature, humidity, and lighting throughout an entire building.

Tying sensors and HVAC systems together with a building automation system allows for even more control. Leveraging the power of computing, automation systems can factor in outside temperatures, occupancy, and energy efficiency to find new ways to create the optimal level of thermal comfort, saving money on your energy bill and increasing worker output. That’s a win-win.

Read the full report: World Green Building Council “Health, Wellbeing & Productivity in Offices” 2014 Report