Air Conditioning or Ventilation? What Are the Advantages of the Different Ways to Freshen Up the Air in Your Office?

Before a heated debate accelerates in your workplace whether you are going to get rid of the fuggy air in your office by turning on the air-conditioning or simply opening the windows, a couple of arguments might come handy –  whatever side of this endless feud you are on.

Did you know that companies in the United States tried to reduce their use of energy by banning their employees from opening the windows and using air condition as late as in the 1970s? These efforts lead to a discovery of a phenomenon known as Sick Building Syndrome with symptoms such as headaches, eye irritation and chest pressure.

There is no point in arguing about the necessity of fresh air. The question that is becoming more and more common is how to achieve it in a workplace. There are two main camps standing against each other – those in favour of traditional ventilation and fans of air-conditioning. What are the advantages of these types of air freshening?

Team Air Conditioning

Air Conditioning is a more modern and adjustable way of letting air into offices – an air that is not only fresher but can cool off the room to a temperature of your choice. Other than that, air conditioning also offers a variety of other advantages which deserve mentioning when arguing about the best way to freshen up the air in your office.

Air conditioning filters the outside air which prevents annoying insects like flies, bugs and mosquitoes from entering the room. Unlike with windows, you can also be sure a rain will not pour down the air-conditioning and destroy your electronic devices in the office. The same applies to any opportunities for thieves who have it much easier to sneak into the office through a window than through air conditioning. 

Team Ventilation

If you are an advocate of a traditional form of air freshening and just thinking about air conditioning makes your back ache, here's a small treat for you. There are a couple of strong points on your side that will help you win at least a couple of arguments with the opposite side. 

The first one is without any doubt ecology. Air conditioning uses a lot of energy which makes for a great deal of ecological burden for our planet. This consumption will then reflect on the electricity bill – not mentioning the significantly higher input investments.

Another argument for a conversation with fans of air conditioning are also the temperature differences we experience during the hottest days of summer. These can reach up to 15 degrees Celsius and are definitely no good for our organism. Another useful point to remember is that ventilation through windows creates smaller space for potential conflicts than air conditioning. Any opening of the window carries within itself a significantly smaller potential for an argument than setting up the air conditioning to 16 degrees Celsius.