Years ago, I worked at the National Archives of Canada. My spot was a six-foot folding table in front of a window (they liked me!) between two banks of ceiling-high shelving loaded with Victorian political records. The climate control was set up for the benefit of the collection, not the staff, and the temperature typically hovered at or below 18 degrees Celsius. Humidity was kept below 40 percent.

I lived in an un-airconditioned flat with west-facing windows, and commuted by bus — also not air-conditioned. A typical Ottawa summer is steamy and hot for at least eight weeks.

By the time I got home each day that summer, my feet and ankles were swollen to about half again their natural size, and I had patches of eczema around my ribs (bra-induced) and behind my knees. The rash took till October to clear up. I shivered at work and sweated miserably the rest of the time.

So, yeah. For your own good, set the air-conditioning as high as you can tolerate.