Do we have to freeze in the office now?

An exclusive evaluation of office buildings shows that in this country people prefer to work at 22 °C. The savings potential at the workplace is therefore massive - and can be optimised with plants.

Saving energy is the order of the day, even in the office. According to the Federal Council's (Bundesrat) recommendation, which could later be converted into an order, the temperature at the workplace should not exceed 19 °C. According to calculations by experts, 5 to 6 % of energy consumption could be saved by every reduced degree.

The evaluations of the Zurich-based company Oxygen at Work now show that the savings potential is indeed considerable. This company actually knows what nobody else in the country really knows: namely, how warm it is in the Swiss offices in winter. The answer: "The average office temperature last winter was 22 °C," says Manuel Winter, co-founder and head of Oxygen at Work. This is 3 degrees more than the targeted 19 °C, which increases the potential saving in energy consumption to 15 to 18 %.

Measuring instruments in the office premises
Oxygen at Work knows Swiss office temperatures so well because the measurement of the air quality is part of the core business of the company, which Manuel Winter founded together with Joel Bloch and Rita Salathé in 2017, and today has over 30 employees. The office upgraders can only use their plant concepts to improve the air quality of their corporate customers if they know their exact temperature, humidity and average CO₂ content. They therefore fit all the offices with small measuring devices, which now allow statements to be made about the temperatures in Swiss offices.

The evaluation is based on data from more than 300 office buildings spread over the whole of Switzerland. The customers work in a wide variety of properties, from the state-of-the-art Circle at Zurich Airport to older buildings. "Our data is therefore quite representative of the entire office park in Switzerland," emphasizes Joel Bloch. If the Oxygen at Work data set is extrapolated to the entirety of Swiss buildings, around 6 terawatt hours (TWh) could be saved per year, which in turn would account for 15 % of local gas imports.

Balancing of interests between ventilation and saving energy
And according to Manuel Winter and Joel Bloch, there is even more to it. "Our analysis has shown that there is far too much ventilation in the offices," they say in an interview with CH Media. They suspect that this is still a consequence of the corona pandemic, when regular airing was recommended . "Half as much would be enough," says Manuel Winter. If less air were ventilated, this would in turn require less energy to be used, because less cold fresh air would have to be heated. The office is thereby one of the biggest levers for saving energy.

Corona is not over yet, however, and ventilation is still good for health – even if it contradicts the energy-saving goal. "A balancing of factors is urgently needed here," says Manuel Winter. "It's about finding the right balance between comfort, health and energy consumption."

Beautiful new plant office world at Swissgrid.      Auerfoto.ch
The three founders of Oxygen at Work: (from left ) Joel Bloch, Manuel Winter and Rita Salathé.    Photo: zvg
 

Plants as a solution
Overall, lower temperatures and less ventilation could save around 40 % of heating energy, which would correspond to 35 % of Swiss gas imports, says Joel Bloch. And even more energy could be saved with the right plant mix. With the right plants in the right place, the ventilation cadence can be reduced, the humidity increased and the temperature stabilised.

Plants were at the very beginning of Oxygen at Work. The idea behind it: plants are much more than just a beautiful decoration, they also improve the air quality and the climate – in the true and figurative sense. "Because if the air quality is better, the employees are better off – and ultimately the work gets better," says Joel Bloch. And, by the way, plants can now also help to save energy. The investment in an optimal plant concept is comparatively cheap, as Manuel Winter adds. The effect, however, is very large.

Plants are only rented
The plants remain the property of Oxygen at Work, the company only rents them to its customers. "This allows us to make adjustments in order to further optimise the situation," says Joel Bloch. In doing so, he and his team rely on the measurement results for air quality, which customers can also view at any time.

Which plants are used where depends on the light and space conditions and on the people who work there "over the entire office ecosystem", as he says. There is not a single miracle plant that solves all tasks at once. What he can say, however, is that the plants should be set up in groups so that their effect is enhanced.

A table and a chair are no longer enough to bring people back to the office
The services of the company are in high demand, and not only since companies that were less focused on sustainability have discovered plants as an energy-saving concept The company’s finances is in the black, and it is pursuing expansion into Germany. "We are urgently looking for more people," says Winter.

Covid has also contributed mightily to growth, as Joel Bloch adds. "Companies know that they have to offer more than a table and a chair nowadays if they want to bring people back to work from their home office." Time in the office is valuable time, and meeting zones are needed – and plants  - to ensure optimal use.