Consumers and environment stand to gain from higher temperatures
The government is writing to users of air conditioning to urge them to take a walk on the mild side.
It wants them to save energy by setting the temperature at 25.5 degrees Celsius instead of the chilly 17 degrees favoured by some businesses.
The Environmental Protection Department has already written to companies calling on them to set dials to 25.5 degrees, which overseas studies have found is most people's comfort level. It will follow up with letters to schools, flat-dwellers and public housing estates.
The move follows a study by Polytechnic University showing that temperatures in 90 per cent of Hong Kong's offices average 21 to 23 degrees, with some as cool as 17.
Changing the setting to 25.5 will be one of the themes of World Environment Day on Sunday.
