Ramblings From Justin Penney

It is currently 78 in my house and 68 outside. It takes a little time to open and close the windows each day ... but it feels so nice. New fresh air, the sounds of crickets and cicadas, the cheaper electricity bills!

I think mid-June is when we finally caved and turned the air conditioner on. I did turn it on for Lily's birthday party but it was back off for at least a couple of weeks.

I wonder how long I can convince my family to hold out on heat?

A while back I would have examined my electricity bill, however, we recently move to level pay and we won't see the savings for a while.

For anyone curious to my methods ... here it goes:

• Bring in the cool night air. At night open everything that you can. If you have an attic fan turn it on and pull all of that cool air in.
• Store the air. IN the morning shut the windows and close all the blinds. You want to keep the air in and the sun out.
• Use ceiling fans or floor fans. We have ceiling fans in nearly every room. Turn them on when you are in the room and off when you leave. Do make sure to turn them off, ceiling fans cool you by blowing on your skin. The actually give off heat from their motor, so a fan in an empty room is a huge waste.
• Dress appropriately. It's a hassle to change your clothes ... but it's cheap. Heck, if you can, just run around naked, your blinds are closed anyway!

Winter is usually a harder sell. I have no trouble wearing a hoodie, wool socks, and jeans. I don't even mind sleeping in clothes (other than shoes and sock which must be removed). I'm really going to push my family this fall. We're going to bundle up, add comforters, burn some wood in the fire place, reverse the ceiling fans, and cuddle up! I have a feeling that Jacey won't mind the cooler temperatures thanks to Dinky. This may be a brief period where we are both comfortable at the same room temperature.

The gas is also on level pay so I won't get any immediate feedback from it either. This automated bill paying has really dulled my sense of instant gratification.

# posted by Justin @ 10:34 PM