people that demand the ac must be on 18 on cloudy not warm days

[marieinlondon]

I only work part time in an office. The work is OK, but I just can't stand the ac. I'm the only slim one in the room and throughout the summer I have to wear a jumper and scarf as its freezing as my larger colleagues all like it turned right down to 18 even on days when there is a cool breeze outside all the windows are shut and we just have stale cold dry air. Does anyone else have this problem?

[Spermysextowel]

I remember being excessively concerned with keeping my new-born's room at the ideal 18 degrees. But then that's apparently because they can't regulate body temperature so if they're cold you add layer & if they're hot you remove one.

[RoboticSealpup]

YANBU. I absolutely hate this. It makes my skin and eyes dry, and it makes the room cold and smelly. It's not like we're in the bloody desert. But I guess the people who like it are the same as those who wear shorts and flip flops in May and June in the UK when it's 7 degrees outside.

[Bunbaker]

"Some of us just dont do well in the heat or humidity."

And some of us can't function when we are cold.

I know what you mean Robotic. I couldn't wear contact lenses to work because my eyes got too dry in the air conditioned office.

[mollie123]

my feeling is that 25 degrees is too hot and 18 too cold in the normal office temperature
it should be 21-23°C (69-73°F) for comfort and in summertime when outdoor temperatures are higher air-conditioned offices should be slightly warmer to minimize the temperature discrepancy between indoors and outdoors.

[Icimoi]

OP, can you in fact open the windows? In most places where there is air conditioning you can't.

I like air conditioning: if I'm in an office where the temperature gets above 26 it makes it very uncomfortable and no, I'm not someone who wears shorts when it's 7 degrees. But I think it should be set at about 23 degrees minimum.

[SirChenjin]

I think what makes AC most frustrating is that it's a one size fits all - certainly in our office. If you're unlucky enough to sit under one of the vent things then you are blasted with the stuff, and if you find the temperature too cold then you can't adjust your section - it's one (freezing) temperature across the floor.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

Doesn't the air-con come with different settings? When I worked in operating theatres, the air-con came with different temperature settings, so if we had a lot of equipment putting out heat, or if it was very hot outside, we could turn it up.

The sensible answer seems to be a moderate setting of the air-con, so that the people who are wearing the bare minimum acceptable, but are still hot, can use a fan to get cool enough, and the people who feel the cold can be comfortable with just the addition of a light cardigan. I absolutely accept that having to wear arctic-standard thermals and fingerless gloves means that the aircon is turned up too high.

But surely there has to be a middle ground.

Oh - and I wear loose cotton clothes, and have cold drinks and use a fan, and I can still end up a puddle of sweat, too hot to do anything. I can end up that way at night, when I am wearing nothing - which would not be acceptable in a workplace scenario (other than in some very specific workplaces ).

[jojomom]

In an office, if you're cold you can pop on a fleece but if you're hot you can't do anything about it. You just suffer. Air con on as far as I'm concerned.

[SirChenjin]

A fleece to sit at your desk in an office on a summer's day?? And what about cold hands, feet and face? Thick woollen socks, gloves and hat? A thin cardigan is fine, but I draw the line at a fleece indoors in an office.

Air con comes with different settings - but you can't have one section of an open plan office on one setting and another on a different setting sadly. Small personal desk fans are the best solution imo.

[DadfromUncle]

All a small personal desk fan does with no aircon is blow warm at you - no help, just extra noise and energy consumption for no gain.

[SoupDragon]

A fleece to sit at your desk in an office on a summer's day??

I used to have to take a warm jumper or something to wear at my desk in the summer. It was easy for me to put extra layers on, inappropriate for others to take layers off :)

[SirChenjin]

Yes, a light cardigan is fine. A fleece? Nope - and it still leaves cold feet, hands, legs and head.

Dad - when you've got people sitting with fan heaters on to counteract the effects of too much AC then I'll accept your point about energy consumption for no gain

[NewFlipFlops]

I have sat at desks for 10 hours wearing fleeces, scarves and Uggs in the summer months. Then as a PP mentioned, it's becoming a thing to have draughty, over-air conned restaurants too. We have a tiny little summer!

Where I want to feel cool, travelling, the heat seems to be on to the max at every opportunity.

I don't get what's become so difficult about maintaining an indoor, ambient temperature of 21-22 degrees.

[SoupDragon]

I never said it was a light cardigan.

It was the downside of a window seat - they were by the aircon vents but no one could sneak up behind you. I wrapped up.

[SoupDragon]

Regardless, I decided the OP is unreasonable simple for making it about weight. Goady IMO but as she's new she probably didn't realise...

[SirChenjin]

In which case the air con is too cold - no-one should have to wear thick jumpers to work in an office. If it's that cold then your extremities will also be cold - so gloves, thick socks would also be needed (in my case), and you would probably see the fan heaters and hot water bottles come out. If you have to add layers or hog hot water bottles to go indoors then the AC is too severe.

[SirChenjin]

It shouldn't be about weight - but sadly it often is. If you're very slim then you haven't got much padding to keep you warm.

[Redtowel]

YANBU.

I live in a very hot climate (48 degrees today) and our AC is set to 23.

18 is ridiculous.

[MayPolist]

if you are cold you can always put more clothes on.If you are hot there is a limit to what you can remove!!

[Bunbaker]

"if you are cold you can always put more clothes on"

Yawn.

It isn't as simple as that. If it was you wouldn't get wimps like me complaining about feeling cold. Coldies like me need more than an extra jumper to feel warm if I feel cold. It is far better if the ambient temperature wasn't so cold in the first place.

[MayPolist]

Well put 2 jumpers on then!

[RoboticSealpup]

Agree, bunbaker. If I'm wearing a dress because it's warm outside, I'm going to feel cold in an air conditioned office because my legs are bare (or only in tights.) It doesn't matter if I wear something warm on top.

[Bunbaker]

I give up.

[SirChenjin]

Excellent idea May - so 2 jumpers on to sit in an office. What do you suggest office workers should do about their resulting cold feet, legs, hands and head?

Don't give up Bun - it's fun

[bookishandblondish]

I lived in a really hot climate at one point and learnt:

During "winter" the AC would be set to 30 degrees

During "summer" it would be set to 14 degrees.

During winter, the average temperature at night was freezing, but then war ed to 30 degrees. During summer, it started at 30 and continued up to 40/50 - I was there during a heatwave.

I used to add layers inside. Pashminas ( real ones) are brilliant for air con. Most people I knew kept a large pashmina/ cashmere scarf ( large being key) in their offices. No point in arguing about the air con - they were local/ I wasn't and they were always going to win.