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Background Studies have demonstrated that exposure to extreme outdoor temperatures increases respiratory diseases related mortality and morbidity, especially in older adults. However, older adults spend over 80% of their time indoors, and the cumulative effects of exposure to indoor temperature on the risk of respiratory diseases have not been investigated. The objective of this study was to study the cumulative effect of indoor temperature exposure on emergency department visit due to respiratory diseases among older adults. Methods Participant data were collected from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database from 2000 to 2014 in Taiwan. The cumulative degree hour was used to reflect the cumulative effect of indoor temperature exposure. A distributed lag nonlinear model was used to analyze the association between cumulative degree hour and emergency department visit due to respiratory diseases. Results Our findings revealed a significant risk of emergency department visits due to respiratory diseases at 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31 °C when cooling cumulative degree hours exceeded 60, 30, 19, 1, and 1, respectively, during the hot season (May to October) and at 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 °C when heating cumulative degree hours exceeded 1, 1, 1, 39, and 49, respectively, during the cold season (November to April). Conclusions We conclude that the cumulative effects of indoor temperature exposure should be considered to reduce respiratory disease risk under climate change.