Optimizing Thermal Comfort in Office Spaces

A building management system, or a BMS, controls a building’s HVAC, lights, and ventilation. A BMS monitors and regulates a building’s temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, and energy usage.

A well-utilized BMS will keep employees comfortable within their work environment. This is called thermal comfort, and is achieved when people feel comfortable within the climate and environment of the room that they’re in.

Some factors that impact thermal comfort are:

• Air temperature
• Radiant temperature
• Air movement/speed
• Humidity

These are all elements of thermal comfort that can be managed by a BMS.

Having a BMS to control your building’s conditions is one thing, but it’s another thing to make sure that everyone feels thermally comfortable within the environment.

You might ask yourself: How important is it to maintain thermal comfort for everyone working in the office space? How much does temperature really affect office employees and their productivity?

The answer: More than you think.

According to multiple studies, the temperature and climate of an office space has a big impact on workers’ ability to think, focus, and produce quality work.

In fact, studies show that a warmer office environment leads to more productivity and output.

The optimal temperature for thermal comfort is 68-79 degrees Farenheit, with women being more productive at temperatures above 70 and men being more productive at temperatures below 70 degrees.

OSHA guidelines suggest that office workspace be kept somewhere between 69-76 degrees Fahrenheit for the comfort of all workers.

The OSHA recommendation for humidity levels is 20%-60%, but other research shows that anything below 40% can trigger health issues such as sinusitis or dry eye. Unnecessary respiratory and vision problems are bound to make anyone’s productivity suffer, so it’s worth it to monitor humidity levels and find a level that works for your workspace.

These are some pretty wide ranges, and everyone has a different thermal comfort sweet spot. The key for managing your BMS to optimize the comfort of everyone will take some testing and input from those working in the spaces.

One way to ensure that everybody is comfortable is to design a human-centered BMS that includes many small temperature zones. Letting workers take control over their own environment guarantees that they will be comfortable within their workspace, allowing them to focus on their responsibilities rather than trying to warm up their hands.

However, if including many small zones is not feasible, then establishing a climate baseline that is comfortable for everyone is key.

Although it might take trial and error, effort, compromise, and input from everyone working within the space, maintaining the perfect environment is crucial to the overall success and productivity of a workplace.

And the good news is that with a BMS system that allows you to change and control the climate of a building with ease, you can easily discover the environment that works for everyone.

However, utilizing a BMS for climate control takes energy, and energy costs money—so you want to be as efficient as possible with your energy use. That’s why maintaining an environment that optimizes the majority of your workers’ thermal comfort is a smart business move that will keep everyone happy.

With a fully integrated BMS system, you can control the entire building to ensure that your employees are comfortable, focused, and productive-- and that you aren’t wasting money on unnecessary energy and operating costs.

TC Control Group’s BMS systems are designed to do just that, keeping your building, your employees, and your pocket in mind. Visit the building management systems page on our website to learn more, or contact us to speak to a BMS expert.