Did you know that many office thermostats do not adjust the temperature, but people feel the warmth changing because of a placebo? This effect is called “the placebo button”. Many of these fake thermostats are installed to give tenants’ employees an illusion of control. In some cases they act as input devices to a central control computer but in others they serve no purpose other than to keep employees contented.
Some are working, some are props and some are only equipped with internal sensors reporting to a building control unit – which can be equipped with an override pushbutton. This override is typically a timer that reverts back to the original temperature at the next schedule point.
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