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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Setting the room temperature to 17/18C when people are dressed in summer clothes and 23/24C when people are in warm clothes

31 replies

Multiplenames10 · 27/05/2026 18:06

Am I being unreasonable to think people who do this are illogical?

To me it makes much more sense, is more comfortable and environmentally friendly to set room temperatures to higher in the summer (but still comfortable) and lower in the winter when people are wrapped up anyway.

OP posts:
Multiplenames10 · 29/05/2026 13:56

Multiplenames10 · 29/05/2026 09:29

Yes that would help if you have to go out in the heat of the day, but you surely you wouldn't make a room of colleagues cold sitting a desks, when you could just take a cold drink to achieve the same thing or a cool shower, or a cool damp cloth over neck.... Seems a very energy inefficient way to do this

Wondering which country this is. Is this Germany? My experience of Germany (mostly Munich) is they have great insulation and good habits of opening up all the window wide for a few minutes every so often and 'changing' all the air , but not letting all the heat/cool from the fabric of the building dissipate.

I lived in the USA for a while, in a place that was a quite a bit hotter than UK and I had no AC in my flat. I was extremely hot at times and survived with box fans in the window and going to bed damp after a cool shower.
People did spend a lot of time in their cars! They would drive everywhere, even a short walk (and not only when it was hot).

OP posts:
FourSevenThree · 29/05/2026 14:13

DancingLions · 29/05/2026 11:15

Why can't they just put on a cardigan if they're cold? It's not like I can strip off! I have health issues and struggle to regulate my temperature. A cold drink or cool cloth just isn't going to cut it and I can't go off for a shower at work.

Because your health doesn't take precedence before everyone's elses.

wombat1a · 29/05/2026 14:26

We set the AC to 28C in order to cool the place down from 36+. In the winter heating is used under 17C only.

DancingLions · 29/05/2026 17:54

FourSevenThree · 29/05/2026 14:13

Because your health doesn't take precedence before everyone's elses.

But surely health trumps inconvenience. Because that is all it is. Not wanting to carry a cardigan. Or in the case of some at my old work, insisting on keeping their desk that's right under the air con vents and then not allowing anyone to put it on, rather than agreeing to swap desks with someone who'd appreciate it!

I'm not saying it should be as low as 17, that's a bit much. But low 20s is reasonable.

FourSevenThree · 29/05/2026 18:06

I'm not talking about a cardigan. I'm talking about negative impact of too intense cooling on people's health.
Temperature shock (caused by too big difference between outside and artificial cooling inside), drying of membranes making people more likely to get sick, sick building syndrom (soar throat, stiff neck, dry eyes).

If the outside temperature is 28, reasonable inside one would be around 23, keeping it acceptable inside and not too big difference.

CaptainMyCaptain · 29/05/2026 18:13

KilkennyCats · 27/05/2026 18:10

Set room temperatures? Are you talking about air conditioning, because I don’t know anyone who doesn’t just switch the central heating off in summer?

This. I don't understand the question. We don't have heating on in the summer.

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