Air conditioning addiction: pumps up costs, lowers productivity.

Consider the following reality:

Almost one kilowatt hour of electricity out of every five consumed in the US is used to cool buildings.

18% of US electricity consumption is used for air conditioning, a great deal of that in large commercial buildings.

Air conditioning contributes to global warming not only by increasing the use of electricity generated by coal and natural gas but exacerbates the problem by releasing refrigerants into the atmosphere. North America, with only 6% of the worlds population, accounts for nearly 40% of the world's refrigerant market.

Worse yet, much of America's conditioned air is going literally out the window. In the US, 25%-35% of the energy used in buildings is wasted due to inefficient glass.

Despite the undeniable causal relationship between air conditioning, staggering energy cost and potentially catastrophic climate change, apparently commercial property owners are willing to pay the price. Is this because air conditioning is so beloved by the public at large? Though that's what HVAC proponents would like you to believe, consider the following:

According to the International Facility Management Association, office temperature ranked at the top of office complaints. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests most office workers complain that the temperature

is too cold and that air conditioning is the cause.

Cornell University reported that 75% of workers polled voice dissatisfaction with the temperature or air quality of their workplace.

Retail venues do not escape criticism. On the web numerous complaints accuse Starbucks stores of being too cold.

Despite these concerns, for years HVAC enthusiasts have repeatedly asserted that productivity improves as temperatures decrease. That was the hypothesis assumed in a recent study by Cornell University of the impact of temperature on office workers' productivity.

Instead, the study's authors found when temperatures were at 68 degrees or below, typists were keying 54% of the time with a 25% error rate. When temperatures were at 77 degrees, the same typists were keying 100 percent of the time with a 10% error rate. Typing errors fell by 44% and typing output increased 150% when of rice temperatures were increased from 68 to 77 degrees.

Workers in a cold office not only make errors but cooler temperatures can increase a worker's hourly labor cost by 10% estimates Alan Hedge, the director of Cornell's Human Factors and Ergonomics Laboratory. Employers would save about $2 per hour per worker with warmer office temperatures.

In addition to chilly, less productive employees, air conditioning can lead to medical problems. Consider the following:

The French Institute of Health and Medical Research asserts that HVAC systems in office buildings have been shown to be associated with several adverse health effects in terms of morbidity and mortality. This may be the result of HVAC systems operating--not abnormally, but as designed.

According to the Common Colds Centre, Cardiff School of Biosciences at Cardiff University in the UK, air conditioning may contribute to infection with common cold viruses. The Centre's web site contends that "The lining of the nose is covered with a thin layer of mucus which protects against infection. Since air conditioners extract moisture from the air they may cause some drying of the protective mucous blanket in the nose and predispose to injection. The cold air may also help viruses to establish a hold in the nose as they reproduce better in a cold nose."

Air conditioning burdens employers with increased costs, decreased worker productivity, unhappy office occupants and a workforce whose health may be in jeopardy as a result of exposure to conditioned air. The cost in terms of electricity use and climate change has been noted. Why then is the temperature of so many American offices and retail environments more like meat lockers than places of human habitation?

Perhaps fear of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) and possible employee and tenant generated lawsuits motivates owners and managers to lower temperatures no matter what the cost. More HVAC, more often is the knee-jerk response of building management as the one-size-fits all solution to indoor air quality problems. This, despite indications that excessive HVAC operation may itself be a cause of the very SBS so used as an excuse to lower the temperature.

Evidence suggests that air conditioning in offices and retail establishments is an out-of-control technology whose costs far outweigh its benefits. Here are alternative approaches to mitigate or entirely prevent building overheating.

HVAC deals with heat after it has been generated in the building or transmitted through window glass. For those buildings with significant amounts of glass through which solar energy causes overheating, heat-blocking window film can stop heat before it enters the building and reduce the need to aggressively operate air conditioning systems.

Lowering indoor temperatures may improve air quality. However, temperature reduction is not as effective as replacing furnishings and building components that are off-gassing nor eliminating sources of water and condensation that create mildew and mold.

Maintaining adequate ventilation in a building to mitigate stuffy air does not require lowering temperature.

For HVAC vendors to contend that reaction to temperature is subjective or that building occupant complaints are essentially irrational is to ignore well-documented evidence that the vast majority of people will be comfortable in offices in which the temperature is kept at 68 degrees in winter and 78 degrees in summer. Humidity levels should be between 30 and 60%.

The best advice we can offer is to quote from the web site of a California utility. "Remember: air conditioning is not to make you cold--just comfortable."

Marty Watts is President and CEO of V-Kool, Inc., a Houston-based North American distributor of applied window films.