Climate change

Consequences of increased outside temperatures

Higher outdoor temperatures can lead to a rise in temperature indoors. In general, physical and mental work and learning becomes more difficult above a room temperature of 26 °C. Elderly and sensitive people also suffer from high temperatures. An increased temperature indoors can increase the emissions of air pollutants from building products and furnishings into the indoor air.

According to the current state of climate research, it is not possible to make a statement about future cold periods with temperatures below 0 °C.

Recommended measures

To comply with current energy saving standards, more and more buildings are being planned, built and renovated to be more airtight. This requires increased manual ventilation by users in winter and summer. When outside temperatures are high in summer, only a low air exchange rate is achieved due to the small temperature difference between the outside and inside air. Basement rooms should not be ventilated at all when temperatures are high, otherwise there is a risk of condensation. Further information on this topic can be found on the " Proper ventilation" topic page.

The German Indoor Hygiene Commission recommends using low-emission products when constructing, renovating and refurbishing buildings. The same applies to furnishings in order to minimize the entry of air pollutants.

Furthermore, during construction, in addition to the necessary thermal insulation, attention should be paid to minimizing building heating in the summer. This can be achieved through passive construction measures or, if necessary, through active climate control support (see the topic pages "Smart Homes" and "Influence of ventilation systems on indoor air quality").