How do I convert Celsius to Fahrenheit?

Multiply by 1.8 and add 32. So 24 degrees Celsius is about 75 Fahrenheit. Roughly, double it and add thirty.

What temperature should I set my AC to in Dubai?

Around 24 degrees is comfortable and much cheaper to hold than 21. Move it up one degree at a time and see where you stop noticing.

What temperature should a water heater be?

Around 55 degrees. Hot enough that stored water stays safe, not so hot that it wastes energy, builds scale quickly or scalds.

Why is my cold water hot in summer?

Because the tank and pipes sit in direct sun, and surfaces in the sun get far hotter than the air temperature. Shading or insulating the tank helps.

Does one degree on the thermostat really matter?

Over a UAE summer, yes. The unit runs longer to hold a lower temperature, and running hours are what appears on the bill.

Is 45 degrees the hottest a surface gets?

No. That is the air in the shade. A wall, a roof or paving in direct sun goes considerably higher, which is why exterior work is done in cooler months.

Temperature Converter

Temperature

Unit it is in

Compare with

Shows the difference against a familiar number.

Your answer

In Fahrenheit

75.2 F

24 C is 75.2 F.

Celsius: 24 C
Fahrenheit: 75.2 F
Kelvin: 297.15 K
Compared with: 45 C
Difference: minus 21 degrees

The formula is Fahrenheit equals Celsius times 1.8 plus 32. Going the other way, subtract 32 first and then divide by 1.8.

Temperature Converter for Dubai and the UAE

This tool converts between Celsius and Fahrenheit, and shows Kelvin as well.

The UAE uses Celsius, so that is the number on your thermostat, your weather app and your water heater.

Fahrenheit still turns up on some imported equipment and in conversation with people used to it, which is why the conversion is worth having.

The numbers that matter in a UAE home

A few Celsius figures worth recognising immediately.

24 degrees
A comfortable air conditioning setting. Higher than most people set it, and higher than most people can tell the difference at.
21 degrees
Where a lot of thermostats end up, and noticeably more expensive to hold than 24 for very little comfort gained.
45 degrees and above
A summer afternoon here. The outside temperature that every piece of equipment on your roof is working against.
55 degrees
The usual water heater setting. Hot enough for stored water to stay safe, not so hot that it wastes energy or scalds.
15 degrees
A cool winter night in the UAE. The only time of year the water heater does real work.

Every degree on the thermostat costs money

This is the most practical use of a temperature number in this country.

An air conditioner does not run harder to reach a lower temperature. It runs longer. And you pay for hours of running.

The gap between the room and the outside is what drives the load. On a 45 degree day, holding 21 degrees is a 24 degree gap. Holding 24 degrees is a 21 degree gap, which is meaningfully less work.

Over a whole summer, that difference is a large number, and most people cannot feel the difference between 23 and 24 in a room.

The way to find your own point is to move it up one degree at a time and leave it a few days. Most households stop noticing at a temperature higher than the one they started at.

Air temperature is not surface temperature

A weather app says 45 degrees. That is the air in the shade, and it is not what a surface in the sun reaches.

A wall in direct afternoon sun, a roof, a paving slab or a car roof all get far hotter than the air around them, because they absorb radiation as well as sitting in hot air.

This matters practically. It is why exterior paint has to be flexible, because the wall it is on moves through a much larger temperature range than the air does.

It is why a cable in a roof void starts warm before any current flows, and why cable ratings derate here.

It is why a water tank on a roof heats the water inside it without any heater, and why cold taps run warm in July.

And it is why exterior work is done in the cooler months. A surface too hot to touch is a surface paint and adhesive cannot cure on properly.

Reading equipment in the other unit

Occasionally you meet Fahrenheit on imported equipment, and it helps to have a feel for it rather than converting every time.

The rough method: double the Celsius and add thirty. It is not exact, but 24 becomes about 78 and the real answer is 75, which is close enough to know what you are looking at.

For the exact answer, multiply by 1.8 and add 32. Going the other way, subtract 32 first and then divide by 1.8. Doing it in the wrong order gives a nonsense answer.

A few landmarks help. Zero Celsius is 32 Fahrenheit. Forty Celsius is 104. And minus forty is the same in both, which is a useful piece of trivia and occasionally a sanity check.

Kelvin turns up in lighting rather than in weather, where it describes colour temperature. That is a different concept using the same word, and a 4000 K lamp is not a temperature you would ever measure in a room.

Questions people ask

How do I convert Celsius to Fahrenheit?: Multiply by 1.8 and add 32. So 24 degrees Celsius is about 75 Fahrenheit. Roughly, double it and add thirty.
What temperature should I set my AC to in Dubai?: Around 24 degrees is comfortable and much cheaper to hold than 21. Move it up one degree at a time and see where you stop noticing.
What temperature should a water heater be?: Around 55 degrees. Hot enough that stored water stays safe, not so hot that it wastes energy, builds scale quickly or scalds.
Why is my cold water hot in summer?: Because the tank and pipes sit in direct sun, and surfaces in the sun get far hotter than the air temperature. Shading or insulating the tank helps.
Does one degree on the thermostat really matter?: Over a UAE summer, yes. The unit runs longer to hold a lower temperature, and running hours are what appears on the bill.
Is 45 degrees the hottest a surface gets?: No. That is the air in the shade. A wall, a roof or paving in direct sun goes considerably higher, which is why exterior work is done in cooler months.

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