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The air conditioner works while/when the room temperature is less than 10℃.

I would like to know whether using the word "while" in the above sentence I created is incorrect.

I googled the expression "while the temperature is less than" and found only two results, and then googled the expression "when the temperature is less than" and found a great number of results.

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    Either word will serve, and neither is incorrect. In general, "googling" is an unreliable method of determining whether a given usage is "correct", because the sample of web pages includes only those which have been indexed by the Google crawler, and because web pages themselves are often created by authors with a minimal interest in "correct" English, or by non-native speakers. The most a Google search can determine with certainty is whether a given usage is employed at all.
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 20:01
  • books.google.com/ngrams/…
    – Khan
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 8:49

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Your use of

while

We can play outside while the sun is shining.

is correct to mean "the period of time during which".

However, your sentence itself my be viewed as incorrect since the purpose of an air conditioner is to lower the ambient temperature, the expression would usually be

The air conditioner works while the room temperature is above...
The air conditioner works when the room temperature is above...

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    Unless, of course, there is more to the story, such as: The air conditioner works while the [outside] temperature is below ten degrees. Once the temperature gets higher than ten, though, it has to work too hard to keep the room cool, and it usually quits working after an hour or so.
    – J.R. ♦
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 20:07
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    I agree that my example is strange...
    – rama9
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 20:38

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