Indoor temperature and office work performance in a temperate climate

The relationship between indoor temperature and office work performance (OWP) remains contested. Previous laboratory studies, including a controlled experiment in Singapore, report limited or no effects within typical office ranges, but replication across climatic contexts is needed to assess generalizability. The present study was conducted in the temperate climate of the San Francisco Bay Area, closely replicating the Singapore protocol with a 30% larger sample: 75 participants completed four 165-min sessions at 21, 23, 25, and 27°C in a controlled environmental chamber. OWP was assessed using the Cognitive Ability Test (CAT) and a battery of eight neuropsychological tests targeting five cognitive domains, alongside continuous physiological monitoring. Although participants preferred temperatures between 23 and 25°C, no statistically significant effect of temperature on cognitive ability or neuropsychological performance was found across the full sample; physiological measures and thermal perception varied with temperature as expected, but without accompanying changes in OWP. Among the highest-performing quartile of CAT participants, a statistically significant, large-magnitude temperature-related effect was observed, though this pattern was not replicated in the neuropsychological battery. The findings closely align with the Singapore study and are consistent with the Maximal Adaptability Model, supporting wider heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) setpoint ranges.

PRACTICE RELEVANCE

Building managers, HVAC engineers, and sustainability practitioners face increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption from heating and cooling while maintaining occupant work performance. This study provides experimental evidence that OWP was not significantly impaired across a 21–27°C range in a temperate climate (San Francisco Bay Area). These findings suggest that modest upward adjustments to HVAC cooling setpoints within this range are unlikely to reduce cognitive output in typical office populations, supporting strategies that expand acceptable indoor temperature bands as a means of reducing energy usage. Decision-makers should note that thermal comfort and satisfaction remain important even when performance is stable, and that these results are most applicable to temperate-climate offices with predominantly young, healthy workers performing structured task work. Longer duration exposure and more diverse occupant profiles warrant further investigation.