Have you ever gone over to someone’s house and started sweating? Or alternatively, put on layers of blankets to not get frostbite? Everyone keeps their house at a different temperature, but why? Additionally, what is the scientifically ideal thermostat temperature?

I personally like it cold. At my house, the thermostat is almost always on 68° and even that is not cold enough for me. I have a fan in my room on full blast 24/7. This works for me because I love sitting under blankets even if I’m not cold, so having it at that low of a temperature allows me to use blankets and be comfortable. Keeping your house cooler is okay, but you have to be careful. “The temperature inside your home should not reach below 65 degrees Fahrenheit in any case, as that increases the risk of respiratory disease and even hypothermia if there is prolonged exposure,” (Cielo, 2021). On the other hand, my grandparents keep their house on 76° which works for them, but when I go over there, I feel like I am in a sauna. However, “many of the arguments stem from one person prioritizing comfort while the other prioritizes cost savings,” (Lenz Mechanical, 2016).

The Department of Energy said, “You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to 68°F while you’re awake and setting it lower while you’re asleep or away from home. In the summer, you can follow the same strategy with central air conditioning by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are away, and setting the thermostat to 78°F (26°C) only when you are at home and need cooling,” (Thermostats). Lilly Drew agrees with me and keeps her house on 67° and said “I prefer it to be cold because I’d rather be cold than be hot and if you’re cold, there are always blankets that you can put over yourself.” Whereas Elsasildai Lopez said she prefers “warm, because I get cold really easy. My house is usually at 75° give or take depending on the weather outside.” So they both are using the temperature recommended, just one for summer and one for winter. But that is only of the opinion to save money, what about just general best temperature?

Sleep wise, “People who sleep in hot environments have been found to have elevated levels of the stress hormone cortisol the next morning. […] Those who sleep in cold environments, meanwhile, tend to fare better. A study of people with a sleep disorder found that they slept longer in temperatures of 61 degrees Fahrenheit versus 75 degrees. The cold-sleepers were also more alert the next morning,” (Hamblin, 2020). That is one point for people who prefer cold. “Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg swears by the mind-focusing effects of a truly arctic conference room: the thermostat is set to 15°C (59F). Meanwhile President Obama keeps the Oval Office so hot, his adviser joked to the New York Times that ‘You could grow orchids in there,'” (BBC). So in the end, it truly is up to preference. Some people run hot-blooded and some people run cold, but this temperature argument stands strong.

References

BBC. (n.d.). The never-ending battle over the best office temperature. BBC Worklife. Retrieved December 3, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160617-the-never-ending-battle-over-the-best-office-temperature.

Cielo. (2021, July 12). The Ideal Room Temperature for Every Situation & 7 Ways to Maintain It! Cielo Breez. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.cielowigle.com/blog/ideal-room-temperature/.

Department of Energy. (n.d.). Thermostats. Energy.gov. Retrieved December 2, 2021, from https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/thermostats.