Sunday, July 13, 2008

Challenge #1: Dress Appropriately Indoors

After the short spring-like break at the end of June and beginning of July, summer has returned with a vengeance. A few nights ago it was still close to 90ºF at 9 PM with at least 80% RH. That’s summer in the Lou; thank modern technology for the cool air cranked out by my A/C. Some of us are very spoiled with climate control, although I know I’ll “pay” for it with this month’s electric bill.

My challenge to myself is to dress for the season, even when I am indoors. I should be able to walk out of my house and be able to handle the weather outside, at least to some degree. St. Louis is a city of extremes, and today it is extremely hot and humid. I may even avoid going outdoors! But, here I am wearing flip flops, shorts and a light T-shirt. I could go outside, if I really had to!

Right now, my thermostat is set for 79ºF. I usually feel cold when the A/C is actually running, and I have the vent in my office partially closed. My husband always thinks it is too hot in the office, but when the air cranks in this tiny room, it makes my toes cold. I am going to turn the thermostat up to 80ºF; I doubt the husband will notice. I am also going to find the small, four-inch fan that we have down in the basement, to help keep that air moving around.


Turning my thermostat up during the summer will REDUCE my use of energy resources. In my area that probably means coal-generated electricity for the A/C. Where does your electricity come from?

If I can set, and keep, my thermostat to 80ºF. Another Bonus goes to anyone who buys a programmable thermostat (on my list for Santa this year).

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3 comments:

Patchi said...

It's better to leave the AC at a steady temperature than trying to change it throughout the day. The energy it takes to change temperature is more than what it takes to maintain it. Our energy bill went down once we got rid of the crazy program the previous owners had set.

Anita K said...

Patricia-
Wow. So many places tout programmable thermostats as energy-savers. Maybe if the change is too drastic? I'll have to research this further before I send Santa my wishlist - at least I have time!
Thanks
~a

Unknown said...

Yes - that is an interesting point. I would like to know more as well. We have a programmable thermostat, but didn't start using the programmable function until last winter. We had the temp very low during the day while we are at work and during the night time, but then increased for dinner time and AM shower time. I noticed our gas bill was somewhat higher, but assumed it was due to increased gas prices, not due to the program. Please let me know if you find out more on this. Right now we keep it set at a steady 80 deg F for summer, which is relatively comfortable for us.