The summers of 2022 and 2023 were marked by severe heatwaves, posing risks to workers' health. If you're an employer, you need to ensure that your teams are comfortable at work, while complying with the requirements of the French Labour Code in the event of a heatwave. To do so, you can follow the INRS recommendations on office temperatures, which indicate an optimum range of 21 to 26 degrees Celsius.
Office temperatures recommended by INRS
Although the French Labor Code sets out a number of measures to be followed in the event of a heatwave, it does not specify a maximum temperature not to be exceeded in the workplace.
It can therefore be difficult for professionals and employers to find the right temperature range. Fortunately, there are a few indicators, such as the NF X35-203/ISO 7730 standard, which recommends a range of 20 to 22 degrees Celsius in offices.
The other approach is proposed by the French National Institute for Research and Safety. According to their recommendations, we should aim for an indoor temperature of 21 to 23 degrees Celsius in winter and 23 to 26 degrees Celsius in summer.
💡 S ee all our content on heat at work
The challenge of combining thermal comfort and energy savings
While the temperatures recommended for an office by INRS would be ideal to achieve, it's difficult to reconcile them with a strategy of energy sobriety. Indeed, in a global context of reduced energy consumption, it is unthinkable to run an air-conditioning system indefinitely throughout the summer.
What solutions are available to employers? One method has been gaining ground in France for several years now: the cool roof. The cool roof makes it possible to act directly on thermal comfort by limiting the temperature inside the office through action on the roof.
💡 To find out more, read our article on improving thermal comfort in the office.
To achieve this, a professional applies a paint specialized in reflecting the sun's rays to the building's roof. By being able to reflect up to 94% of the sun's rays, it greatly reduces heat in the event of a heatwave. This method is fully compatible with an energy-saving plan, as it consumes no energy once applied.
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