Springtime, the season of open windows and beautiful breezes, is just about over. Next, the air conditioner will be turned on, the windows slammed shut, and the thermostat wars will rage on!
Who participates in your family’s thermostat war? You and your spouse? Maybe your kids, who are old enough to reach the thermostat, have joined in?
As you are warring on about whose ideal indoor air temperature is the right one, here are some expert opinions to consider:
- Roy shares the story of when he had a hard time sleeping in a room set by his wife at 60 degrees. Once his doctor suggested turning the temp to 68 degrees, Roy was finally able to sleep.
- The National Sleep Foundation recommends a range of indoor air temperature between 60-67 degrees.
- You may be thinking: “but who is going to pay for all that cold air so we can sleep in the 60s!” The energy conscience experts would agree with you! Energy.gov recommends 78 degrees for the summer time. 78 degrees will make the indoors feel cooler than the outside air, but it still keeps your energy use down.
- Some heating and air experts also recommend saving energy in the daytime by turning off the air conditioner when no one is home. This is not for just running out to do some errands, but for when the house is vacant during the eight-hour work day. A programmable thermostat can help turn it back on just before you arrive home from the office. That way if you do like the temperature at home to be lower than 78 degrees, you at least won’t be paying for it when you are not actually using it.
- If you have elderly or disabled in your home, you will need to consider their needs when choosing an ideal air temperature. Those with severe disabilities will not be able to just put on a sweater when it’s too cold or be able to communicate with you that it is too hot. Keep your eye on nonverbal signs so you can adjust to the ideal temperature for them.
Ultimately, no matter what the experts say, you need to find out the ideal air temperature for your own family.
You could start the summer off with a low temperature and increase it a degree at a time until everyone agrees that they are comfortable (and everyone is comfortable with the electric bill). The first step towards a comfortable temperature this summer is making sure your air conditioner is in working order! Before the time comes to switch your unit on, have your HVAC serviced by Cranbury Comfort. Good luck winning the thermostat war!
