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It doesn't matter how frugal we are, because we don't have a thermostat. When it is warm, we open some windows or, if it's really warm, turn on a fan. I do enjoy Seattle's mild summers.
I am frugal in every single aspect of my life besides with the AC! When I am home during the day it is set to 71, and is turned down to 68 once the sun goes down. I only turn it up to 74 when I leave for the day. It is important to note that I live in a 750 sq foot one bedroom apartment though so I am not heating a massive house. I do however live in Florida so it still isnt cheap to run it that much. I pay about 80 a month in the "cooler" months (oct-march) and about 120 a month in the summer!!
We don't set thermostats in summer, just in winter. You must be talking about people who have electric heat? No one around here could afford electric heat; we have gas or oil. For summer we have a ceiling fan and two window fans. We eat too many frozen desserts and block the sunlight on the south and west sides of the house. Open the windows at night. By August we may turn on the window a/c but only if it gets close to 100 and extremely muggy.
I'm sort of lucky that I live next to the ocean---it's almost always cool if you walk over to the beach in the evening. During the day I may go somewhere in the car and enjoy their a/c. (Car a/c is not working too well though )
We don't set thermostats in summer, just in winter. You must be talking about people who have electric heat? No one around here could afford electric heat; we have gas or oil. For summer we have a ceiling fan and two window fans. We eat too many frozen desserts and block the sunlight on the south and west sides of the house. Open the windows at night. By August we may turn on the window a/c but only if it gets close to 100 and extremely muggy.
I'm sort of lucky that I live next to the ocean---it's almost always cool if you walk over to the beach in the evening. During the day I may go somewhere in the car and enjoy their a/c. (Car a/c is not working too well though )
Well, most of the folks here -- myself included -- have oil or gas heat but rely on electric for AC. Those who don't have oil or gas for heat use a heat pump which isn't the same thing as standard electric baseboard heat which would put most of us in the poor house.
Your location is favorable negating the need for central AC, but then again back in the day we survived in hot, steamy Baltimore with fans, both electric and the cardboard kind you wave in front of your face.
If I were rich, temps would be 72 in the winter and 68-70 in the summer. As it is, winter temps are 60 at night in the winter, 65 on weekends (60 while at work), and in the summer I only run the central a/c when it has been 90 degrees for more than two days to bring the house temp back to 75. I run a room a/c in my bedroom with it set at 68 because I don't deal well with anything on low sleep.
This summer, I might sleep in the basement part of the time now that I've done some remodeling.
No A/C here, and the temps are very mild. If it gets too warm in here, I open the window. I have learned that I'm most comfortable at 70 degrees. But, where I live, the all-time record high was 93 degrees :-)
Secondly, because you are frugal, where do you set your thermostat in summer?
(Web search reveals most pundits recommend 78F.)
I'm very frugal but if I'm in the house, it never goes higher than 74F. Even at that temperature I have a box fan in front of me at all times... Any higher than that and I start sweating like it's nobody's business.
If I wasn't frugal, I would have it at 66-68 all day.
The winter is where I save my money on HVAC... only to lose it between the months of May and October.
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