Office climate control: Healthy workplaces and offices

Why is office climate control important?

As an employer or building owner, it is important to create a healthy working climate. Every day, you need to look for smart improvements, so that you can get the most out of your building.

We will list a few important figures for you:

1. 4 out of 10 employees are not satisfied with their current workplace

Are your employees in your office satisfied with their workplace? Research has shown that 4 out of 10 people say no (Health, 2017). This is due to various factors such as poor air quality, inadequate lighting, wrong temperatures, and poor overall comfort.

2. Sufficient daylight in the office contributes to an average of 46 minutes more sleep at night

Office workers who receive sufficient artificial and natural daylight experience fewer complaints, such as headaches, and sleep longer at night. This results in higher productivity. The intensity and the timing of the light are also important. They can even have a positive impact on employees' BMI.

3. An indoor temperature between 20 °C and 25 °C results in the highest work productivity

Various studies show that people's cognitive abilities increase in a well-ventilated building. This is equivalent to a salary increase of 5,500 euro per year and a substantial decrease in energy costs of up to 90% (Health, 2017). Given that people are working indoors more and more, climate factors such as temperature and humidity in particular are becoming increasingly important.

4. The need for individual comfort has never been so high

An energy-efficient climate system is not enough. After all, how do you ensure that your employees really do use the building optimally? By making your building smart and user-friendly. In this way, you provide each user with maximum personal comfort during their daily work process.

This could include providing an automated parking system, for example, so that people can find a parking space quickly and efficiently. It could also involve the integration of a system in which employees are assigned a flexible workplace based on the weather forecast, such as on the sunny side in cold weather and on the shade side in hot weather. This saves on heating costs, to start with, but also on cleaning costs, for example. These are just a few of the possibilities you could leverage to increase the efficient use of your building.

The advantages of a good indoor climate at work

The key to increased productivity comes down to the environment in which people work. A healthy indoor climate at the office ensures that people feel energized and perform better. There are also other benefits to be gained from efficient use of climate control at the office.

1. Health

Clean air, sufficient air exchange, the right air humidity, and the ideal office temperature can prevent allergies and complaints relating to ‘sick building syndrome’. A pleasant indoor climate at the office ensures that people feel physically great.

2. Productivity

It has been scientifically proven that a healthy indoor climate at the office, thanks to zone control, is conducive to increased productivity. If someone feels comfortable in their work environment, they perform better.

3. Absence

Did you know that a healthy indoor climate at the office results in fewer illness related absences? If people work in a healthy workplace, they seldom fall ill.

4. Sustainability

Building automation is the first step to a sustainable building. It helps create a healthy and optimal indoor climate at the office while ensuring conservation of energy and improved energy performance.

5. Costs

A healthy indoor climate at the office does not only benefit the people, it also benefits your pocket by helping you to save on energy costs. Thanks to modern building management systems and climate control technology, healthy buildings save 30-40% on average on their energy consumption costs.

Climate control at the office prevents complaints

Climate control at the office prevents users from complaining about allergic reactions to the skin and respiratory system as well as complaints relating to ‘sick building syndrome’. ‘Sick building syndrome’ occurs if the CO₂ concentration in the building reaches levels that are too high. It can cause a congested or runny nose, dry and itchy skin, dry and painful eyes or throat, and fatigue or concentration problems. In a healthy building with office CO₂ monitors, adequate ventilation, a comfortable office temperature, and correct air humidity, these complaints no longer occur. Research by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also shows that sick building syndrome can be caused by external factors, such as polluted air that blows into the building from outside. The first step to a healthy office is, therefore, adequate ventilation through climate control.

But how do you create a pleasant workplace for everyone? How do you ensure that work productivity is maximized? And how can you manage an energy-efficient building for yourself at the same time?

Regulating the indoor environment of the office building

People move around at different times and in different parts of your building. The system you use for climate control in the office determines where and when the optimal climatological conditions prevail. The ultimate goal is a healthy climate with a comfortable working environment temperature, however, controlling such a climate involves a continuous process of management, measurements and analysis.

By means of building automation, you can regulate the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and sun protection in your building. This enables you to achieve a comfortable indoor climate, along with the ability to automatically manage, monitor and adjust the air humidity, air pressure and CO₂ levels.

Workplace air monitoring: measuring and maintaining office air quality

It is important to measure the air quality at the office because, as indicated earlier, polluted air makes people ill. To measure air quality and other parameters, Priva offers many sensors that are essential for creating an optimal climate. With our sensors or digital twin, you can count on the fact that your systems are using the right data to regulate building comfort.

We offer smart sensors for measuring such things as

• Temperature
• CO₂
• Relative humidity
• Air quality
• Light intensity
• Occupancy
• Condensation

A healthy indoor climate in the office with Priva

By linking various building systems up to Priva, you can easily set the desired climate for every room yourself. We strive to help you create a healthy and comfortable indoor climate at the office through easy control features in your building management system (BMS).

Our cooperation with bGrid® enables you to achieve your objectives perfectly. Your office becomes a personal assistant that makes all this possible. A minor revolution: no more separate solutions for individual problems, but a single system with all the functionalities for an optimal working environment. Now and in the future.

You provide an inspiring and healthy environment, in which your employees enjoy working – right now and in the long term.

Want to know more about innovations in buildings? Read more about Priva Lab for Innovation or discover Priva Digital Services.