Micah Pollak had no idea the trouble he was getting himself into when he shared his preferred thermostat settings on social media. “I just discovered most of our friends set their AC at 68-73F during the summer,” Micah, who is an economist at Indiana University, in late June. “We keep ours at 77-78F.
Are we monsters!?” Nearly a thousand replies later, the consensus was that, yes, Micah’s family are monsters, probably some type of lizard. Although he didn’t realize it, Micah has been following a set of numbers from the Environmental Protection Agency that every summer, often after a local news station on how to reduce your energy consumption and lower your utility bills. The recommendations include keeping your thermostat at 78o when you’re at home during the day, 82o at night, and 85o when you’re away during the warm months.
To many people, sleeping in 82o heat is simply outrageous. (Not to mention , according to experts.) But energy prices are crazy too, and they’re only expected to rise as utility companies to make the grid more resilient to the effects of climate change.
Extreme weather events are becoming more common, and heat waves in particular , especially when thousands of people are running their ACs at full tilt. So maybe cranking up your thermostat isn’t such a bad deal. Typically, I’m inclined to set my AC to 72 on a really hot day.
If I could get used to a balmy 78o inside, I’d not only save money, I’d be doing my part to keep the grid r.
