Battle over air conditioning can cause heated arguments, says BC Hydro study

The latest study from British Columbia's Crown-owned power utility finds office air conditioners cool the workplace in summer but can also lead to heated arguments among colleagues.

A report from BC Hydro says an increased use of air conditioning in the office leads to worker discomfort, with 25 per cent of those asked saying office temperatures have prompted disagreements among co-workers.

Hydro says the use of air conditioning in commercial buildings has increased by almost a third since 2006, while its study says as many as two-thirds of the 500 people questioned report they can't access the thermostat or lack permission to change the settings.

Hydro says 60 per cent of those surveyed — most of them women — find office temperatures are so low that they have trouble working, requiring them to regularly use a blanket or other layers to fend off the chill.

BC Hydro says its data supports other studies showing many office climate-control systems are based on an outdated thermal comfort formula designed to suit the metabolic rate of men.

Spokesperson Susie Rieder explains part of the problem is that many office ventilation and heating systems continue to use settings that were often designed for men in the 1960s, and research shows men have a higher metabolic rate than women.

"That could be contributing to women feeling colder in the office. Another (study) that recently came out in the online research journal Plos One said women actually work better in warmer temperatures and men work better in colder temperatures," Rieder said.

The online survey of 500 British Columbians was commissioned by BC Hydro and conducted between June 20 and 25, 2019.