6 ms·

> A study in Phoenix, Arizona, found the hot air pumped out of air conditioning units increased the city's night-time temperature by 2C Often I wish places of

> A study in Phoenix, Arizona, found the hot air pumped out of air conditioning units increased the city's night-time temperature by 2C Often I wish places of business and work places wouldn't turn up the AC so much. I have a jacket at work in Phoenix during the summer because they keep it so cold.

huac 9y ago
Some trading floors keep it very chilly in order to keep traders awake (and issue fleeces to keep the rest of their body warm).
pitaj 9y ago
Better have it too cold and people where extra clothing than have people sweating themselves. You can always put more clothes on, you can't take off your skin.
- nsxwolf 9y ago
  It's easy to get warm; hard to get cold.
  - barrkel 9y ago
    It's not so easy to protect e.g. your wrists from the cold desk.
    - PhasmaFelis 9y ago
      How not? I can't imagine long sleeves or a jacket not being enough, but if so, just put down a folded towel or something.
- projectorlochsa 9y ago
  24-25 Celsius on lowest fan settings should be cold enough for practically everyone.
  - seanmcdirmid 9y ago
    My office space in china would keep the temperature around 24-26C in the summer. My arms would literally sweat to the desk when typing (I'm not a completely in the air tyoer, as a programmer I don't need to be). I had to hit a cooler Starbucks with a laptop to get things done it was so annoying. I much would have preferred it being a bit colder, around 20C is best, even if I would wear a light jacket at that temp...at least I could type.
    - fnord123 9y ago
      I'm reminded of this whimsical picture of how Canadians, British, and Australians feel about temperature: https://imgur.com/gallery/5dfyCDn https://imgur.com/gallery/5dfyCDn
    - projectorlochsa 9y ago
      It sounds very weird. If the space is closed, the AC makes the air dryer, so sweating should be minimal on these low temperatures (dampness is hell). Are you sitting next to a window that is blasting its rays over your body? Is the building badly designed? Are you protected by a layer of fat cells? Sweating at 24-26C without sunlight blasting at you is very anomalous. Lowering the AC to 20C or below is such an insanely wasteful thing to do it ought to be forbidden. The biggest CO2 footprint is us, the first world, heating and cooling.
      - wapz 9y ago
        I don't disagree with you but I'm not sure all your questions are reasonable/respectful. Here are a few examples from my situation. The AC in Japan has two settings--one is cool and one is "dry" for dehumidify. The cool setting does not dry the air (or if so, ever so slightly). We have high humidity so 26 degrees can feel hot indoors. There are some seats in the office that are close enough to have the sunlight hit the desk. I'm not in one of those seats but can imagine it feels very hot. Our office is "set" to 25 but at my desk it is often over 28 degrees (all the towers are on the tables and the AC is far from my location). I consider myself in fairly good shape but sweat quite a lot when it's over 28 degrees with a PC tower blowing hot air at me.
- eBombzor 9y ago
  Decreasing the AC doesn't mean people will start sweating themselves. 75 - 78 F is perfect but most buildings for some reason turn their ACs all the way down to the 60s. For athletic centers, of course it makes sense. But in big open libraries, lecture halls, places with little activity in general, it's awful. It's especially bad for your health if you live in a hot region like southern California since your body has to keep adjusting between the scorching heat outside to the freezing cold inside.
  - PhasmaFelis 9y ago
    > 75 - 78 F is perfect Like hell it is. I sweat like a pig at 78.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - isolli 9y ago
      Because you're not used to it. Which is part of the problem: change is hard.
  - dba7dba 9y ago
    Even though I live in very warm/mild weather area, I ALWAYS try to keep a jacket handy if I know I will be going into an enclosed place to be sitting still, like theaters, restaurant, etc. It's really silly that we have the technology of AC but cannot control the temperature accurately enough.
  - arethuza 9y ago
    I suspect it very much depends what you are used to - I probably think of 15C as "comfortable" and 25C inside would be sweltering. Having said that I'm in Scotland - the other day we had heavy rain and it was 8C which is weather we could get at any time of the year!
    - ownagefool 9y ago
      Funny. I'm Scottish and I would find 15c utterly baltic, especially when inside.
- johnchristopher 9y ago
  Ever try coding with mittens :-) ? Humor aside, there's a point for me at which even with more clothes the AC is too cold or aggressive and I end up with headaches. Fortunately I am aware of it and I try to be preventive about it (by moving away from the thing).
  - steveax 9y ago
    Bob Cratchit fingerless gloves FTW :-) Seriously though, I live without AC at home (Portland, OR, so not a real hardship) and often wear a cap and vest during the winter. I kinda like having more connection to the outside temperature.
    - tinix 9y ago
      As someone who has lived and spent a lot of time in both very humid and hot areas, like South America and the Southeastern US, and as someone who has also lived in the PNW... I have to say, you simply need to accept that you simply don't know what humidity is in the PNW... heat too, and just weather in general (haha, people in seattle had a meltdown when it hailed). Sure, it's more humid, than, say, San Diego, but it's not humid in the PNW, by any rational means. There's a reason AC is uncommon up there, because it's really not necessary. As for heating, that's more of a concern up there, and that's why oil heating is WAY more common there, than, say, Alabama. The opposite is true for cooling, too... But, as someone else who lived in the PNW, I have to agree with you at least on one front, some good fingerless gloves are basically necessary in the winter.
  - j_s 9y ago
    There are entire niche businesses existing solely because of this issue! http://www.wristies.com/ http://www.wristies.com/
  - LyndsySimon 9y ago
    > Ever try coding with mittens :-) ? No, but I've seen PowerPoint presentations that were designed by someone wearing mittens...
- r00fus 9y ago
  You can't take off your skin, but humans are adaptable. My family has minimal problems sleeping in 80/90 degree rooms, though we prefer high-60s. I suspect (for offices) it has to do with productivity - warmer people can get sleepy after lunch, etc. Colder people are more alert (to a certain point).
Aoyagi 9y ago
Actually the study [1] states "1C, almost 2F" or "more than 1C, almost 2F". [1] https://asunow.asu.edu/content/excess-heat-air-conditioners-causes-higher-nighttime-temperatures https://asunow.asu.edu/content/excess-heat-air-conditioners-...
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

huac 9y ago

Some trading floors keep it very chilly in order to keep traders awake (and issue fleeces to keep the rest of their body warm).

pitaj 9y ago

Better have it too cold and people where extra clothing than have people sweating themselves. You can always put more clothes on, you can't take off your skin.

nsxwolf 9y ago
It's easy to get warm; hard to get cold.
- barrkel 9y ago
  It's not so easy to protect e.g. your wrists from the cold desk.
  - PhasmaFelis 9y ago
    How not? I can't imagine long sleeves or a jacket not being enough, but if so, just put down a folded towel or something.
projectorlochsa 9y ago
24-25 Celsius on lowest fan settings should be cold enough for practically everyone.
- seanmcdirmid 9y ago
  My office space in china would keep the temperature around 24-26C in the summer. My arms would literally sweat to the desk when typing (I'm not a completely in the air tyoer, as a programmer I don't need to be). I had to hit a cooler Starbucks with a laptop to get things done it was so annoying. I much would have preferred it being a bit colder, around 20C is best, even if I would wear a light jacket at that temp...at least I could type.
  - fnord123 9y ago
    I'm reminded of this whimsical picture of how Canadians, British, and Australians feel about temperature: https://imgur.com/gallery/5dfyCDn https://imgur.com/gallery/5dfyCDn
  - projectorlochsa 9y ago
    It sounds very weird. If the space is closed, the AC makes the air dryer, so sweating should be minimal on these low temperatures (dampness is hell). Are you sitting next to a window that is blasting its rays over your body? Is the building badly designed? Are you protected by a layer of fat cells? Sweating at 24-26C without sunlight blasting at you is very anomalous. Lowering the AC to 20C or below is such an insanely wasteful thing to do it ought to be forbidden. The biggest CO2 footprint is us, the first world, heating and cooling.
    - wapz 9y ago
      I don't disagree with you but I'm not sure all your questions are reasonable/respectful. Here are a few examples from my situation. The AC in Japan has two settings--one is cool and one is "dry" for dehumidify. The cool setting does not dry the air (or if so, ever so slightly). We have high humidity so 26 degrees can feel hot indoors. There are some seats in the office that are close enough to have the sunlight hit the desk. I'm not in one of those seats but can imagine it feels very hot. Our office is "set" to 25 but at my desk it is often over 28 degrees (all the towers are on the tables and the AC is far from my location). I consider myself in fairly good shape but sweat quite a lot when it's over 28 degrees with a PC tower blowing hot air at me.
eBombzor 9y ago
Decreasing the AC doesn't mean people will start sweating themselves. 75 - 78 F is perfect but most buildings for some reason turn their ACs all the way down to the 60s. For athletic centers, of course it makes sense. But in big open libraries, lecture halls, places with little activity in general, it's awful. It's especially bad for your health if you live in a hot region like southern California since your body has to keep adjusting between the scorching heat outside to the freezing cold inside.
- PhasmaFelis 9y ago
  > 75 - 78 F is perfect Like hell it is. I sweat like a pig at 78.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - isolli 9y ago
    Because you're not used to it. Which is part of the problem: change is hard.
- dba7dba 9y ago
  Even though I live in very warm/mild weather area, I ALWAYS try to keep a jacket handy if I know I will be going into an enclosed place to be sitting still, like theaters, restaurant, etc. It's really silly that we have the technology of AC but cannot control the temperature accurately enough.
- arethuza 9y ago
  I suspect it very much depends what you are used to - I probably think of 15C as "comfortable" and 25C inside would be sweltering. Having said that I'm in Scotland - the other day we had heavy rain and it was 8C which is weather we could get at any time of the year!
  - ownagefool 9y ago
    Funny. I'm Scottish and I would find 15c utterly baltic, especially when inside.
johnchristopher 9y ago
Ever try coding with mittens :-) ? Humor aside, there's a point for me at which even with more clothes the AC is too cold or aggressive and I end up with headaches. Fortunately I am aware of it and I try to be preventive about it (by moving away from the thing).
- steveax 9y ago
  Bob Cratchit fingerless gloves FTW :-) Seriously though, I live without AC at home (Portland, OR, so not a real hardship) and often wear a cap and vest during the winter. I kinda like having more connection to the outside temperature.
  - tinix 9y ago
    As someone who has lived and spent a lot of time in both very humid and hot areas, like South America and the Southeastern US, and as someone who has also lived in the PNW... I have to say, you simply need to accept that you simply don't know what humidity is in the PNW... heat too, and just weather in general (haha, people in seattle had a meltdown when it hailed). Sure, it's more humid, than, say, San Diego, but it's not humid in the PNW, by any rational means. There's a reason AC is uncommon up there, because it's really not necessary. As for heating, that's more of a concern up there, and that's why oil heating is WAY more common there, than, say, Alabama. The opposite is true for cooling, too... But, as someone else who lived in the PNW, I have to agree with you at least on one front, some good fingerless gloves are basically necessary in the winter.
- j_s 9y ago
  There are entire niche businesses existing solely because of this issue! http://www.wristies.com/ http://www.wristies.com/
- LyndsySimon 9y ago
  > Ever try coding with mittens :-) ? No, but I've seen PowerPoint presentations that were designed by someone wearing mittens...
r00fus 9y ago
You can't take off your skin, but humans are adaptable. My family has minimal problems sleeping in 80/90 degree rooms, though we prefer high-60s. I suspect (for offices) it has to do with productivity - warmer people can get sleepy after lunch, etc. Colder people are more alert (to a certain point).

Aoyagi 9y ago

Actually the study [1] states "1C, almost 2F" or "more than 1C, almost 2F". [1] https://asunow.asu.edu/content/excess-heat-air-conditioners-causes-higher-nighttime-temperatures https://asunow.asu.edu/content/excess-heat-air-conditioners-...

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]