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What is the right room temperature in a housing company?

The recommended room temperature in a flat during the heating season is 20–22 °C, and the most common target in housing companies is 21 °C. The action limit in the Finnish Housing Health Decree is 18 °C: in a flat colder than that the action limit is exceeded, and a health hazard has to be investigated. The upper limit is not as precise: according to the recommendations the temperature should not exceed 23–24 °C during the heating season, and heat above that costs money without adding comfort. Each degree corresponds to about 5 % of the consumption of heating energy (Motiva and the Energy Authority).

What the recommendation is based on

  • Health and comfort. 20–22 °C is the range in which most people feel well in normal clothing. Below it people are cold; above it the air feels dry and stuffy.
  • Structures. A sufficient temperature keeps the structures dry. A flat that is too cold and whose structures hold moisture is exposed to mould. That is why the temperature is not lowered below 20 °C for the sake of saving.
  • Energy. A drop of one degree throughout the building reduces heating energy by about 5 %. If one flat is four degrees too warm, 20 % of that flat's heating is wasted.

Why the way of measuring matters

The temperature is measured in the living space, at about one metre above the floor, away from the radiator, the window and the front door. A meter in the hall shows too cold, one above a radiator too warm. The flat sensor is placed on an internal wall in the living room or bedroom, so that the measurement corresponds to what the resident experiences.

A single measurement on a single day says little. Continuous measurement tells whether the flat is cold every night or only when the wind is from the north. The control is made on the basis of continuous measurement.

What a housing company can agree

The board can decide the building's target temperature and its permitted range, for example 21 °C ± 1 °C. When the flats are measured, the fulfilment of the target is seen and not guessed. The conditions guarantee in Kiinteistöpilvi means that flat temperatures stay within the agreed limits also after energy saving measures and that we correct a deviation with an adjustment at no separate charge.

Kiinteistöpilvi

Frequently asked questions

May a housing company lower the temperature to 20 degrees to save?

Yes, 20 °C is within the recommended range. It must not be lowered below 18 °C, and 18–20 °C is the range in which complaints begin. A more sensible way to save is to remove the excess heat where there is any and keep the target at 21 degrees.

Why is it warmer at the neighbour's than at ours?

Because one heating curve heats the whole building by the same rule, and the flats lose heat at different rates. The solution is measurement and evening out, not raising the curve for the whole building. Cold and too warm

What is the right temperature in the stairwell and the basement?

According to Motiva's recommendation, 17–18 °C is enough in a stairwell and about 12 °C in storage rooms, as long as the structures stay dry. Overheating of common spaces is a common and easily corrected waste.