

By opening windows, you might be losing the cool air inside your shaded office, which instead is filled with hot air from outside, heated by the sun. Even better, you can open windows and doors on the otherside of the building to allow a cooling current of air to run through your room.īut others argue this is a mistake. This prevents it from getting intolerably stuffy, as CO2 and heat build up in the room. The argument in favour of opening your windows is that fresh air will circulate. Then you need to decide whether to keep the window open or closed. Your windows are one of the key ways you can regulate temperature in your workplace.įirstly, close the curtains to keep the direct sunlight out (unless you have especially thick, dark materials as these may in fact capture the heat). Overheating carries big costs for business. Patterns of spending and consumption are also disrupted, with wide-ranging economic effects. Economic output has been shown to fall during bouts of extreme heat, with one estimate suggesting that productivity falls 4% for every degree above 27° Celsius.

Heatwaves also affect productivity on a bigger scale. We all know how high temperatures can make you feel sluggish and studies have shown that heat reduces our brain performance.Ī 2018 paper from the Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health found that students who lived in dormitories without air conditioning in a heat wave had lower scores in cognitive tests than others students who lived in air-conditioned dorms. Moreso than ever now that many people are working from home rather than a large, cool, air-conditioned office with well-stocked fridge. Which is lovely if you’re at the beach, your toes dipped in the surf, but if you’re at work then the heatwave is a battle to stay cool. Temperatures have risen to new highs: The German Weather Service (DWD) confirmed a new record just last week in Lingen, Lower Saxony, where Germany’s highest ever temperature (a sweltering 42.6° Celsius) was recorded. Here in Berlin, as elsewhere around Europe, the heat has had the Spacebase team gasping for fresh air. So as the summer heats up, many of us have been wondering – should you keep your windows open or closed in a heatwave? August heatwave Windows can heat up a room and bring hot air inside, instead of keeping you cool. Windows let the world into your workplace.
