SINISA BOTAS / SHUTTERSTOCK Feedback This month, CIBSE LinkedIn group members contribute to the debate on sexist air conditioning and the role clothing plays in workplace thermal comfort Gender specific Maastricht Universitys research (AC settings too low and sexist for modern mixed-gender workplaces, CIBSE Journal, September 2015) is fascinating because it confirms what any of us who has been responsible for detailed hands-on system commissioning of an occupied building have found: women in the office workplace favour warmer conditions than men. It is not a sexist conclusion, but an observable fact. In my experience, this is true both in winter and summer, as the Maastricht team found. But the logic of their conclusion that the effect results mainly, if not totally, from heat emission per unit area and the higher skin surface temperature that goes with it deserves closer analysis. The reason for saying this is the simple observation that much of the difference could arise from fashions and allowable dress codes women, in summer and winter, being far more lightly dressed than men. The male equivalent of womens hotweather office dress is closer to open-necked summer shirts, shorts and sandals without socks, but with a lightweight cardigan to hand. Conversely, in winter, the female equivalent to mens coldweather dress is closer to a warm cotton vest, serge or heavy jeans trousers, a heavier cotton shirt, plus tie, closed shoes with socks, and with a pullover or jacket or waistcoat to hand. It would, therefore, be interesting to know, as with Fangers original research, exactly how all the participant/subjects were dressed. An overall clo value (the unit of measurement for the insulation of clothes) is not adequate, and one really needs detail of clothing to understand whether men and women when identically clothed feel the same. As a backup, staff in offices where the dress code requires almost identical clothing should be studied to see if they have a significantly closer agreement on comfort conditions. It is most welcome to have ones conclusions confirmed as not being simple sexism, but surely it is time that the automatic conclusion that conditions should be altered to suit only women should be challenged as sexist. It would be more appropriate to recommend realistic dress codes for men, or to normalise codes on a thermal basis when employers insist on them. John Moss Consultant, building performance and systems design a system to suit all gender all of the time! Relative Humidity RH has one of the biggest impacts upon human comfort in the working and resting space! changed since the 90s and using design methods that have barely changed since the 50s. Of course there are plenty of refinements that have taken place in the intervening years, computer aided design, variable speed compressors, digital controllers but in essence we are using similar solutions for the majority of installations. CIBSE LinkedIn group members debate sexist air conditioning Paul McGrath Womens clothing style often changes each day, whereas men typically dress consistently, and can easily throw on a jacket or sweater if its cool. Katrina Christopoulos Women also have the option of a jacket or cardigan. People of both genders should use layers of clothing to address their needs. As long as a building sits within a sensible indoor air temperature range (21C to 24C) there should be no adjustments. Matt McLeod Having managed both building controls and HVAC at an airport, my experience is the temperature is much less of an issue than draught. Virtually every complaint we investigated was due to an air draught, not temperature. And my experience from this facility is females are much more sensitive to draft than males. Hermione Crease Dressing warmly and appropriately for a hot commute and a cold office is probably more challenging for women. Bruce Boucher The correct definition of air conditioning which has not changed for decades is, heating, cooling de-humidification, humidification and filtration. Dont confuse Comfort air conditioning with the true definition. Sadly we dont and cannot afford to design systems by the true definition. Neither can we Bob Beattie Biggest thing is finger walking on controls, sending the air conditioning into a frenzy. Many systems with room setpoints have a display that allows the culprit to change settings but, after they walk away, it reverts back to the original. Howard Tomlinson The psychology and physiology of temperature is complex and we are working using technology that hasnt much changed since the 70s, operated by controls systems that havent fundamentally Mark Churchill Men, in contrast, were happiest at 71oF (22oC) nonsense! 18oC is about right. Fresh air and cooler temperatures are essential for both physical and demanding mental work. Typically, those complaining about cold temperatures are dressed inappropriately and no amount of sensationalist journalism can hide that fact! CIBSE Journal welcomes readers input, whether it be letters, opinions, news stories, events listings, humorous items, or ideas and proposals for articles. Please send all letters, and any other items for possible publication in the CIBSE Journal, to: editor@cibsejournal.com, or write to Alex Smith, editor, CIBSE Journal, CPL, 275 Newmarket Road, Cambridge, CB5 8JE, UK. We reserve the right to edit all letters. 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