Why do we put up with frigid AC temperatures? - YouLookFab Forum

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Why do we put up with frigid AC temperatures?

April

Veteran

I can't tell you how much it upsets me when public places set their air conditioning to utterly frigid temperatures. What a disgusting waste of energy, not to mention an enormous waste of money that I'm sure gets passed along to the consumer/taxpayer in some form.

I can't imagine that anyone really needs the indoor temperature to hover around 50 degrees when it's 90 outside. AC should make the temperature pleasant, not icy.

Why do we tolerate this, and if we don't want to, what can we do about it?

General

26 replies

Latest reply was from Scarlet

Beth

Veteran

It makes me nuts, too. The schools I work in are freeeeezing, but the budget is such a mess, they're laying off staff. Absurd.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

You can talk to the management and ask them to change it.
Sometimes, hot air from doors makes it's way in so much that they turn the AC down lower to compensate, and sometimes the thermostat is in an awkward place, so that one area is hot and another freezing. My husbands workplace is like that with the heat in the winter.
I actually don't see this issue much where I live.

Maya

Veteran

Air conditioning is so tricky I feel like I just can't judge, though I do agree that the warmest comfortable option is for the best considering energy and the environment.

But it is hard to please everyone, and all of us have different internal thermostats. I know I typically run colder than most, so I just throw a pashmina in my bag and don't complain. My dad runs even colder than me. He is in long sleeves while my mom and I are in tank tops. It also depends what I am doing. For some reason I feel colder at certain times of day, probably relating to my activity level. It also depends on the building/room in question. Where I used to work, my boss used to ask me to turn the temperature down to 60 and I was very reluctant, but turning it to 60 made the whole room about 70 because it just wasn't strong enough. At home, it can be frigid downstairs and hot upstairs because the hot air rises. Basically there are just too many variables. I know some people do just fine without AC and plenty of people live without it, but I'm miserable without it.

50 degrees seems ridiculous though. Most places here seem to run in the 65-70 range. For me, up to 75 is comfortable.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

The story of my hot weather life :0(

I can't handle frigid A/C. Hong Kong is the worst. WORST! I need thermal underwear indoors when it's equator weather outside.

I sympathize, April. Just got to layer up I guess.

biscuitsmom

Veteran

Ive actually asked to speak with the mgr and politely suggested they have someone stand at the door and hand out coats and mittens for their customers! lol...I usually leave a mid-weight neutral cardi in my car and DH's SUV to bring in with me/us....

April

Veteran

Yes, it is hard to please everyone, and I wouldn't quibble about a few degrees in either direction. I'm fine with carrying a light wrap all summer since I run cold, and I am definitely not someone who prefers no air-conditioning at all.

I'm really talking about what seems to have become a cultural norm of excess: jacking the air up way beyond the point where a simple extra layer solves the problem. I just find the waste distressing.

Queen Mum

Veteran

this is what I don't get...
when we go visit my husbands family in OK during the summer, I literally freeze inside.... then when we visit over the winter she has the thermostat set so hot I can't sleep at night. I'm always baffled by that.

taylor

Veteran

Ugh, Pet peeve. Even on the hottest 100+ day here I keep my house 80-81 degrees. I hate cold air blowing on me!!

Carole

Veteran

I don't get it either. Seems like we wait forever for it to warm up and then when it does we can't enjoy a little heat on our bones, we have to blast it off with air conditioning.

We have overhead paddle fans in a few rooms in our house, and love the circulation of air that provides without using air conditioning, seems like a good alternative at home anyway!

anne

Veteran

I agree that the wastage is appalling, but also that the design of some buildings can make it tricky, and also that people have different working temperatures (eg the main university library where I studied was set for the comfort of those working there, who were moving around, whereas the students who were mostly sitting needed to have a cardigan on in summer.

At home I try to get by with minimal heating/ cooling, which is easier in my part of Australia of course. I am firmly of the camp of "put your dressing gown/ jumper/ slippers on before we THINK of turning on the heater!" and while AC would be nice (we have only one portable one that we put in the girls' bedroom) it isn't really unbearable for more than a few weeks a year.

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

It's also hard to control temps in public buildings when they have to account for the body heat of the building's occupants, as well as the open doors, etc.

In my building at work, the temps are completely different in each section. It used to be a grocery store, and I clearly sit in the old frozen food section. I literally have a space heater on every day at my feet!

stringy

Veteran

My office had real problems with the temperature being way too cold during summer - eventually they discovered that there was a computer tower sitting right up against a temperature sensor, and the heat from the machine was tricking it!

I read somewhere that the Fijian parliament ended up re-setting their dress code to allow for short sleeves and no jackets for the gentlemen. It's so hot there but the men were forced to wear full suits every day, which meant they were spending a ton on electricity bills to cool the building down. Just changing the expected dress code let everyone dress for the weather instead of for the occasion.

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

We don't have air conditioning at my work, but we have windows that open and fans that circulate the air and given that London doesn't get that hot. I would kill for air conditioning on the underground though. A lot of the time, it is cooler to walk than catch the tube!

April

Veteran

The whole "space heater to counteract ridiculously arctic AC" is exactly what I'm talking about. Kristen, I sympathize completely -- I used to work in a community mental health facility where that was necessary, and I was swathed in wool and boots when it was 90 degrees outside.

But no one should ever be put in that position.

chewyspaghetti

Veteran

I'm curious now about AC in people's homes. Where I live (in the desert), people are very stingy with AC. It's just so warm so much of the year that it's too expensive to have AC on all the time. We just get used to it- use fans, and adjust windows. Many of the people that I know have not yet turned on the AC for the year, or only use it in extreme heatwaves (105 plus). I don't even have AC, we have an evaporation cooler, but even that I try not to turn on. I've been running it on low at the hottest part of the day for a couple of hours, mostly to cool off my bedroom which stays hotter than the rest of the the house. I try not to really run it at temps under 90.
What temp do you run your AC at in your houses?

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

I don't know if it's my hardy Canuck background here, but I'm absolutely miserable in excessive heat. I'm the opposite of Angie and would far rather be cold than hot. I sleep with windows open when temperatures are below zero and only use a puffer if the temp goes below -10 Celsius. By the same token I turn into a cranky jerkmonster when temperatures climb and I have no way to cool off. My whole family is wired this way, so I grew up in a house where the AC came on as soon as the temperatures passed the 27C mark (or if humidity crept in at slightly lower temps). My apartment doesn't have central AC, but we've installed window units that we tend to leave running. I am ashamed to admit that I'm not a great environmental citizen when it comes to temperature control. I can't sleep in the heat, and I can't function without sleep, so I shift into selfish mode and let the AC run. We aim to keep our apartment temperature in the low 70's (20's or high teens, in celsius). Even high 60's is cool with us. But April, I agree that 50 is positively absurd.
Because of my own preference, I'm perfectly happy to carry a coverup for times when the office temperature goes below even my comfort level (which happens). On behalf of people like me, I'd like to apologize for the inconvenience I know we inflict!
)

Queen Mum

Veteran

Michelle- no need at all to apologize for wanting to be comfortable in your own home. Waste all the energy you want... I for one won't call the environment cops on you

Khris-- we have an evap cooler too (we call it a swamp cooler) I too run it late afternoon when it really starts getting warm in the house. On the hottest of days I will turn it on much earlier just to keep things bearable in the house.
During the winter I turn the heat on in the AM if I need to take the chill off the house and usually turn it off by noon. Nothing annoys me more than to wake up in the middle of the night and realize the heater is running. gah! I can't breathe!!!

Louise

Veteran

Living in England I don't think any homes have A/C, some work places do (though not me being school based) When it's really hot I keep my bedroom curtains closed then open the windows behind them when I get in from work. I have A/C in my car and use it frequeltly in hot weather x

Kristine

Veteran

I really don't like air conditioning! I just want summer to feel like summer. I heard a piece on npr about it a week or two ago. The gist of the book is that air conditioning has changed our whole culture, from kids spending more time inside, less acclimation to heat and adults not socializing like they used to (when air conditioning was only in a select few public places like the theater).

At home we have one window unit that we turn on sporadically during the summer. It's really for the sake of our dogs (siberian huskies) that we run it at all.

Kate

Veteran

When I was living by myself, I kept the AC at 80 during the day when I was home, and a box fan pointed at me at night (with the AC off). Now that my boy and 2 long haired cats are here, we keep the AC at 80 all day every day. We still use the box fan at night, and a ceiling fan during the day sometimes.

Theresa

(website)

Veteran

oh I totally sympathise!

Where I live we have a good 6 months of summer and everyone has A/C and run it.

I am like Angie and REALLY feel the cold, so in summer if I have to go indoors to a shopping centre/office complex/hospital etc I have to wear warmer clothes.

In my own house, I do run the a/c for around 2-3 months of the year from around midday - 6pm and in the girls room overnight - I hate the electricity bill at the end of the quarter and the environmental damage, but I worked out that having children who are happier and calmer is definitely worth it LOL (From 9-4 we keep everyone inside to avoid the worst of the sun and heat here so they get super cranky and irritable if they are both stuck inside sweltering!)

But I don't set it super cold - I hate that if you are inside and its cold, if you have to step outside you are hit by an extreme heat that I'm sure wrecks your body more than just being a bit warmer all day long.

I guess my winter is probably a bit more like some of your summers - nowhere here is really equipped with heating, so we have the option of running small heaters or layering up.

So for us in Winter I put the heater on in the bathroom when the girls are having their bath and getting dressed, but then it gets turned off and we just layer up.

After so long of summer I enjoy the feeling of the coolness - even though I feel it more than most LOL.

It makes me giggle though that my grandparents are usually the first to start running the a/c or lighting their fire (yes they are one of the few around that have a fireplace!) - usually its the oldies telling us we are too soft and it used to be hotter/colder when they were kids.

Sharon

Veteran

I agree - this is one of my pet hates. I leave for work in summer in a light dress and spend the day shivering at work. Ugh.

biscuitsmom

Veteran

My DH and dog like the cooler temps, so I usually end up under a blanket with the a/c running...and running....I have fibro bad, and I *know* it would be better if I wasnt so chilled most of the time. But its easier to warm up than cool off and doggit cant breathe well when its above 74 and DH gets b*tchy, so its under covers for me!

April

Veteran

I was in downtown Philadelphia today, and it was in the 90s. (All due respect to our desert dwellers -- 90s in a humid climate is miserable. My family has lived in Phoenix for 25 years but when they're at my house in that weather, they can't breathe.) Everyone I saw on the sidewalk was in little sundresses or sleeveless tops -- and then I saw one woman in a long-sleeved button-down with a long-sleeved v-neck pullover on top. Long pants, heavy shoes. I thought she looked insanely inappropriate and then I realized -- aha! She probably works in an office like Kristen's!

Tanya

Veteran

My workplace is freezing, the AC is that strong. Everybody keeps a fleece jacket at work, while it is 97 and more degrees outside. Such a waist of energy in my opinion.

Scarlet

Veteran

AC supercool is one of those things that drive me nutty. I really don't understand it myself. I also think it makes people more susceptible to being sick going from one extreme of temperature to another all the time.