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Category: Energy and Efficiency

Cool & Productive: Office Design Tips for Beating the Summer Heat

As the summer months settle in, office environments across the UK can quickly become uncomfortably warm. For employers, the challenge isn’t just maintaining a comfortable temperature, it’s keeping employees productive, focused, and energised despite rising heat levels.

At Meridian Interiors, we understand how smart office design can play a critical role in supporting comfort and wellbeing during seasonal changes. In this blog, we explore practical, design-led strategies that help businesses stay cool, efficient, and sustainable throughout the summer.

 

The Hidden Cost of Overheating in the Workplace

Temperature has a measurable impact on productivity. A study from Sustainable Energy & Environmental Systems suggests that office productivity tends to peak at around 22°C, and even a slight rise can lead to reduced focus, increased fatigue, and higher rates of absenteeism. For businesses, this can quietly undermine team performance during key summer months.

While air conditioning offers relief, there are also other ways to design and layout workspaces that naturally keep temperatures down, without driving up energy costs.

 

Design Strategies to Keep Your Office Cool

Opt for Light and Reflective Colour Palettes

Lighter shades don’t just brighten a space, they reflect heat. Incorporating whites, pale greys, or soft blues into your walls, furnishings, and floors can help reduce heat absorption. These tones also promote a feeling of calm and focus, creating a fresh atmosphere that counteracts the heaviness of summer heat.

Prioritise Ventilation and Airflow

A well-ventilated office isn’t just more comfortable, it’s healthier. Incorporate layouts that support ventilation, particularly in open-plan spaces. If a refurbishment is on the cards, our team at Meridian can advise on mechanical ventilation, and design strategies that promote air circulation.

Choose Cooling Materials and Finishes

Material choice can significantly impact internal temperature.

It’s best to avoid heat-retaining carpets in sunny areas. Consider hard floors like Luxury Vinyl Tiles.

You could also opt for breathable upholstery fabrics on chairs and soft seating to improve comfort.

Strategic Space Planning

Including these three points into your office layout, can also provide effective results:

  1. Position desks and workstations away from direct sunlight
  2. Breakout zones can double as cool-down areas, with soft seating and shaded lighting
  3. Provide flexible, hot-desking options near cooler areas of the building

 

Energy-Efficient Cooling

By implementing passive cooling strategies, businesses can lower their energy usage and support their environmental goals. Things to try are:

  1. Upgrading to LED lighting, which generates less heat
  2. Using timed or occupancy-based cooling systems
  3. Incorporating green walls or indoor planting to improve air quality and thermal balance

These changes can reinforce a company’s commitment to workplace wellbeing and environmental responsibility.

Stay Cool and Stay Ahead

Summer shouldn’t be a season of discomfort and distractions. With the right office design, your team can thrive in a workspace that feels as good as it looks, without ramping up your energy bill.

Thinking about a summer refresh or long-term fit-out? Get in touch with Meridian Interiors Ltd to explore tailored solutions that keep your team cool, productive, and ready for what’s next.

Air conditioning your office space

Anyway, enough with all the science stuff. Let’s get into the benefits, how/why it affects people differently and the design considerations within an office space.

Ventilation & air conditioning; the benefits for staff and visitors

Heat can make workers feel hot, flustered and sluggish in the office. Many studies back this claim and as the warmer weather sets in, discomfort is more apparent, resulting in poor productivity. Air-con systems provide appropriate ambient conditions for employees to concentrate and work effectively; negating this productivity slump. Here are just five of the benefits for both staff and visitors alike:

⦁ AC allows windows to stay closed, negating pollen intake among hay fever sufferers, reducing symptoms and improving work ethic as well as keeping out the noisy external environment.
⦁ AC reduces heat and moisture levels. Mould and mildew stop forming, reducing maintenance costs and potential respiratory issues
⦁ Air quality is improved as AC units contain purifiers, reducing nasty bacteria and dust particles responsible for sickness, low motivation and productivity
⦁ Conditions such as noise levels are undisturbed as modern AC units operate almost silently
⦁ Clients will feel good in a conditioned environment. A comfortable, welcoming space prompts customer visits and business growth

Office temperature; a bone of contention?

The simple fact is that every individual has his or her own unique preferences. Some shared, some different to others. With this in mind, it’s important to note men and woman’s idea of the ‘perfect temperature’ differs at physiological levels. This is dependent on our gender, age, weight, ethnicity and adaptability. The bottom line? Women generally feel colder than men. Arise, the bone of contention and potential office conflict! But don’t panic… We’ll explore some key points to consider.

Physiological differences are to blame, not your colleague’s mood! A study found woman typically produce less body heat than men. They’re more likely to feel chilly in the office, whilst men tend to feel warmer. Everyone knows a happy workforce is a productive one, so how do we accommodate everyone? An agreeable solution seems impossible, right? We recommend sticking to the guidelines. The Approved Code of Practice states a minimum workplace temperature of 13-16 Celsius, depending on the activities carried out. Not everyone can be pleased, so a tip for those suffering in colder spaces – have a portable heater to hand! Try and find a happy medium, gather a general consensus of an appropriate office thermometric.



To dig into this topic a little further, we’ve carried out our own research, asking 1000 UK office workers whether they felt too hot or too cold in the office. As predicted, women are officially colder at work, with 37% of females saying they often felt cold in the office, and 13% saying they felt cold in the office all the time! 

We also analysed the temperature debate by age, and the youngest age demographic, 18-24, appear to be the coldest at work, with 48% claiming they are cold in the office all the time. In fact, there was a noticeable correlation between age and how warm or cold people feel in the office, with older age groups less likely to feel cold at work than their younger colleagues. 

Lastly, we had a look at geographical location to see whether this had an impact on people’s opinions. Residents in Wales were the most likely to feel cold all the time, followed by workers in London. Surprisingly, workers in Scotland were the least likely to feel chilly! 

Air conditioning considerations within office design

So, we’ve explored the science, the benefits and why AC affects people differently. Yet a question still remains, how should AC be considered within office design? Air con specialists will examine the parameters of an office, the number of people, as well as exit points such as windows and doors. In addition, sun trajectory, building structure and ceiling types will all be looked at closely to determine spatial configurations.

The design of an office impacts how well the AC works. They work well in open-plan areas, however individual spaces should have their own systems. Finally, consider the businesses critical equipment and cooling needs. The modern workplace contains tech that generates a lot of heat. It’s important to filter this to improve operating efficiency, ensuring safety in an optimal workspace.

But need not worry! Our team of experts will design your office with comfort and ventilation in mind, maximising airflow for a happy, productive environment. Get in touch with us today!

 

wooden boardroom table with black chairs and TV mounted on wall

Using Glazed Partitioning within your Office

Open plan offices are common place, due to the benefits gained through the collaboration between individuals and departments, and being able to offer a healthier environment from better ventilation. 

As a result, we are often asked for a solution to keeping the open plan look, feel and benefits, with the addition of smaller break out areas, meeting rooms or individual offices.

As a solution to this, we like to recommend the use of glazed partitions, especially within open plan areas. Glass is ideal for letting the light flow between environments, improving the perception of space. 

One advantage to using glass is that you can use manifestations to control how much light you need to flow through the space or the amount of privacy you need within a room.  Manifestations can also be used to incorporate branding, feature designs or add colour onto the glass.

Another benefit to using glass partitions is having the option to use different lighting and floor coverings within these spaces, which can been seen across the open plan office, adding different layers of texture and improving aesthetics. 

Our Design Team at Meridian Interiors would like the opportunity to discuss how you could benefit from the use of glazed partitioning within your office facility.