Room temperatures

[mercalia]

Room temperatures

The article below is mainly about tenants and landlords controling room temperatures, but did state the following point that surprised me.


Risks of adverse health effects arise when indoor temperature drops below 19C, with serious health risks occurring below 16C, it says. (Housing Health and Safety Rating System)


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50294404

wow my room at the moment is 17 C and feels ok to me

[rotavator]

I find 18-21 C to be ideal for a living room but in a bedroom I prefer lower temperatures, ideally around 17 C because I find it easier to sleep. At 16 C or less in a living room I would get cold hands if sitting doing nothing, like now, but as for serious health risks I guess these would mainly apply to the very young, elderly and sick people otherwise would anyone risk going camping outside the warm summer months? You are likely to get more problems with condensation and mould at lower temperatures in cool damp climates like the UK right now and during winter.

[Cyril Haearn]

Makes me sick to see people wearing t-shirts inside in winter

[rualexander]

Serious health risks below 16 degrees?
What are these health risks?

Temperature in my house is below 16 degrees for probably about ten months of the year at least.
Currently 11 degrees inside, 4 degrees outside.

Might put the heating on next week.

[pjclinch]

Serious health risks below 16 degrees?
What are these health risks?

In a generalist document aiming at a lowest common denominator I'd guess this is about people that have genuine trouble keeping warm. I am not such a person, but I know people that (through no fault of their own) are, and they'd be in trouble at those temperatures if sustained. For example, one of my colleagues has very little digestive system after complications from Crohn's, has zero body fat and while as mobile as she can manage has very finite limits on available energy to burn. She's always cold and in an environment where most of us are in shirtsleeves she has a hot water bottle, extra pullover and gilet on. Constant < 16C would be properly bad news for her.

Pete.

[Psamathe]

Serious health risks below 16 degrees?
What are these health risks?

Temperature in my house is below 16 degrees for probably about ten months of the year at least.
Currently 11 degrees inside, 4 degrees outside.

Might put the heating on next week.

The source document full text

A healthy indoor temperature is around 21 ̊C. There is small risk of health effects below 19 ̊C. Below 16 ̊C, there are serious health risks for the elderly, including greatly increased risks of respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Below 10 ̊C a great risk of hypothermia, especially for the elderly.

Cardiovascular conditions (e.g. heart attacks and stroke) account for 50 per cent excess winter deaths. Respiratory diseases (e.g. ‘flu, pneumonia, bronchitis) account for another third.

Excess cold can also cause an increase in blood pressure/reduce resistance to infection because of the effect of cold air on bronchial lining and immune system/worsen symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.

It gives no source to research for these temperatures.

I have no expertise but to me their thresholds seem a bit high. I can see impacts on/risks for the elderly are greater but for normal healthy people ... makes you wonder how we ever survived as a species before central heating, thermal wall insulation, etc.

I don't have a thermometer and had my central heating system disconnected from the boiler a few weeks ago (as I have not used it in 11 years). What happens to those temperatures if you wear a sweater (or a fleece)?

Ian

[Mick F]

Makes me sick to see people wearing t-shirts inside in winter

Here's a confession.
I'm wearing a t-shirt .............. and nothing else.

Quite cool in here.
18degC

[axel_knutt]

https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4306

[Paulatic]

Yesterday I was thinking how do some of you survive in such low temperatures. Yesterday I thought I was a cold tattie.
This morning I was sitting with cold hands and a cold nose and the thermometer in the room said it was 18.7C. Prompted by this thread I began wondering if maybe the thermometer was wrong so dug out my multimeter with temp gauge. Checked this with a gauge outside, checked it with the Met office, checked it with the oven temp. The multimeter was spot on the room thermometer was 5C out! No wonder I needed 23C to feel warm .
This afternoon I’ve lit the fire , thrown out the room thermometer and I’ve just taken my jumper off it’s 18C.
We don’t have any heating in the bedrooms I don’t know how people can sleep in warm bedrooms. I have the bedroom window open all year round albeit just a crack if it’s minus something outside. Maybe I’m not such a cold tattie as I thought

[rualexander]

https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4306
Room temp.jpg

Study was done in China on a Chinese population, may not be applicable in western Europe.
Interesting though.

[Psamathe]

https://www.bmj.com/content/363/bmj.k4306
Room temp.jpg

Study was done in China on a Chinese population, may not be applicable in western Europe.
Interesting though.

I was wondering about that related aspect, not Chinese but about how much these effects are determined by what you are acclimatised to. e.g. If you are used to 25+℃ every day then down below 19℃ might be a bit stressful on you. But acclimatised to 17℃ are you at higher risk or are you at normal risk because you've been acclimatised to that for many years. Or even acclimatised to e.g. 17℃ maybe 25℃ would cause increased risks?

Ian

[Bmblbzzz]

Makes me sick to see people wearing t-shirts inside in winter

Here's a confession.
I'm wearing a t-shirt .............. and nothing else.

Quite cool in here.
18degC

That's the thing. Quite a lot of people are comfortable at 18C in just a t-shirt. Some at 14. Only a few at 10 and a tiny number when the temperature gets into single digits. Equally, some people will want a woolly jumper and heating at 18. A few will still feel cold at 22. And because these people will all be found in the same office, shop, train or house, the use of heating has to be a compromise which will leave some individuals in t-shirts while the heating's on and the snow lies deep etc. The thing that might "make you sick" is when someone clad in t-shirt complains of being cold and cranks up the heating rather than putting on a layer.

[Cyril Haearn]

Right again, I put on more clothes, a woolly hat, go to bed or go for a walk to get warm, then to bed, rather than put the heating on
In trains the temperature is usually disagreeable, too high, and the air is bad, might I take all my clothes off to compensate?

[Mike Sales]

I have just escaped from an overheated hospital ward.
I find all wards overheated, but this was something else again and so agreed everyone, staff and patients.
Lying still on my bed I was on the point of sweating.
I am sure the heat stress slowed my recovery, though perhaps by driving me to hobble to the courtyard through the providential door it did get me mobile quickly!
I do not have a temperature figure.
Next time I will take a thermometer (and earplugs).

[yakdiver]

I set my thermostat to 21.5c during the winter, but I'm a naturist
Many years ago I lived in rented accommdation which had timed hot water and heating, I was glad to leave.