I've been suffering a lot at work recently because certain people keep turning up the heating to 23°C which I find completely unbearable. We have air-con units with electric heating elements, which produce a stifling and unpleasant dry atmosphere. Additionally, I find 23°C to be uncomfortably hot even with otherwise ideal conditions.

Apparently, in an average year the highest temperature on the very hottest day in my region is 22°C. I therefore find it scientifically inexplicable why certain people who would turn the air-con on in the summer would turn the heating on in the winter? In my office, there are usually 3 blokes and 2 women. It's only the women that choose to turn the office into an electric fan oven. I've had similar experiences in other companies and indeed at home.

Can anyone explain this? I can only assume that certain women do not obey the laws of physics. They are not just from another planet, but from an alternative reality where the perception of temperature is regulated not by air temperature but by some seasonal force totally unknown to man.

Personally, I find 18-20°C to be quite comfortable, 21°C decidedly warm, 22°C a bit stuffy and 23°C to be completely unbearable even sat totally naked with a cold drink.

So, how hot would you choose to run your heating? Assume that you're mostly sat at a computer rather than doing physical work.

I voted 18°C, although at home I actually choose to run the heating lower and wear some clothes to keep me warm. It's financially and environmentally more responsible.

20 degrees normally, although me and the missus play thermostat ping-pong every time we pass it. She's always turning it up to 22-24.

At home, with our Heath Robinson heating setup, we don't have the luxury of thermostat control. If we crank the radiators up, it'll get 'warm'. If we turn them off and/or open the windows, it gets 'cold'. That's about the limit of our control. I've never bothered measuring, but I'd say just under 20°C is probably about where we prefer it.
However, when I'm up in the loft (where I have my study/workshop), on cold nights it never gets above 15° or so, even with a heater. I just wear a jumper.

At work, we constantly have the 'stat set to about 32°C (the max) - but I think it's knackered! In reality, it gets to about 18°C on average, which is fine for office work.

In the car (strangely, the one place in my life I can have absolute control of the temperature ), I have it set to 22°. I dunno - I just like to be nice and toasty when driving in the winter. Heated seats are also nice.

It varies, normally 20C but if that gets too uncomfortable I turn it down by a few degrees.

Any warmer than that and I start to get tired and foggy headed, meaning I can't concentrate and fall asleep.

Where's the "Don't know because the cheapskate previous owner of my house didn't fit a thermostat" option?

It's warm enough to keep my son warm, but roasting like the in-laws have theirs. I'm guessing it's about 19-20 degrees.
If I had a thermostat, it would be at 20.

The well regulated laboratory conditions I'm used to working in were 295K, and I found that a litle warm.

When the heating is set too warm there is normally a woman behind it.

1 - Point out to them that they could wear more clothes, save the planet
2 - Inform the management, they like cost savings
3 - Set the controls to 291K and then fix them with superglue

I like this one.

Mark

23 degrees then.
You've been watching too much Top Gear.

I currently live with the 'rents and the thermostat has been set at 16*C. The timer is adjusted as required for winter/summer.

Yet even 16*C can be overly warm for me. I prefer 12*C. Nice and cool.

Women feel the cold sooner than men. It's science.
We tend to keep the heating here at home about 20°C.
C_W - does the heating even come on for the sake of 12°C? I'd have thought the ambient heat of your bodies and electricals would have managed that.

well regulated? I know it was supposed to be regulated but....

I haven't even turned mine on for the last few days (and it's been cold).
We've got a hot air blowy thing so the thermostat doesn't do much (as it's downstairs & the heater is upstairs).
I usually just turn the heating on manually in the morning for 15mins when I'm getting up then maybe 15mins at night when the little one is having his bath.

The heating control in my house is on the boiler and is for the water temperature in the heating system so it's at 65C.
No idea what the actual temperature is but I aim for about 20C. Fairly sure it's colder than that during the winter (and it doesn't really matter in the summer).

At the research bunker we're meant to be at 20C for standard laboratory conditions and it's usually 20 +/- 2C most of the time. In the summer it can get higher than this but they are in the process of replacing the air handling units on the roof (or so we're led to believe) so hopefully we'll have consistent temperatures all year round when its done.

And yet they're willing to wear so little in the name of fashion on a winter's night - not that I'm complaining

Hmm, the thermostat is set to 25, which means it is currently 16°C in the flat, I'll light up the wood burning stove in a bit. But it feels warm enough at the moment.

The heating here is really crap. I need to turn it up to nearly 30 to maintain 20°C, but the bathroom runs off the same thermostat, which means, when the rest of the flat gets to about 20-23°C (depending on the wood stove), the bathroom stays at around 14°C in winter

Thankfully I'm moving out in January!