Today is supposed to be our final day in the 90s for a little bit. I’m looking forward to the much more comfortable 80s because I can turn off the air conditioning.
I am NOT a fan of AC. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it’s purpose and I am grateful to have central air in my home, but I am not a fan of walking into a place from outside and actually getting chills and shivering from it.
I carry a sweatshirt in my van for trips to the grocery store. Are they aware that it’s unnecessary to make the entire building the same temperature as the refrigerated section? Sometimes I wonder.
I am personally of the belief that it’s this going from very hot to very cold repeatedly that makes people susceptible to colds and flu in the middle of the summer. How can your immune system function properly when you’re constantly trying to re-balance your body temperature? That’s quite a strain.
We’ve spent this heatwave with our AC set on 76-78 degrees and we turn it off on our way to bed at night. No, 78 degrees is NOT too hot. Don’t believe me? Go stand out in the sun on a 95 degree day (like we’ve had lately) for 15 minutes and water my garden. Then come on in the house and tell me it’s not cool, comfortable, and perfect inside. I turn it down to 76 during the part of the day when I’m cleaning. Being up and moving around a lot creates heat, so I grab those extra two degrees to make cleaning up more tolerable.
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Fans are a great alternative to AC, but there are a couple things to remember.
Running many fans can be just as much of an energy drain as running AC. I did an experiment last summer and turned on every fan in the house. Then I went out and recorded a video of the speed in which my electric meter was moving. Then I went in, turned off ALL the fans, turned on the AC, and took another video. I was shocked to see that when all the fans were on, the meter was actually spinning FASTER. I was drawing LESS energy by just running the AC.
Also…
Fans cool people, not rooms! If you sit in front of a fan, it blows air across your skin causing your sweat to evaporate creating a cooling effect. If you run a fan in an empty room, you circulate warm air in circles.
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SO! Keep that AC temperature setting up. You don’t really need to freeze. You’ll feel better if you don’t. You’ll be healthier if you don’t. Plus, you get the added benefits of BEING Green by conserving energy and SAVING green by not pumping it into your electric bill. And you can help your AC along by sitting near a fan, but if you’re not going to be in the room, fans are a waste of energy.
Make it a GREAT summer by staying healthy, saving money, and doing something caring for our Mother Earth.
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My affirmation until 7-11-10 on the New Moon~
My life is a reflection of my thoughts. I will think on Joy filled things*
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“Leo draws emphasis to the self, to central ideas or institutions, away from connections with others and emotional needs. People tend to be melodramatic.”
