Day Ninety-Nine - Chillin' Out

Turning the A/C AND the Furnace Off

It's that wonderful time of year when the brutal heat of summer gently gives way to the cool, crisp air of autumn. Warm, sunny days yield to the chill of the night and the temperatures undulate between daytime highs in the upper 70's to nighttime lows in the 40's. This fluctuation that causes multiple wardrobe changes during a 24 hour period also leads to the cycling of air conditioning and heating in most of our self-contained, climate-controlled eco-systems we call "home".

This home, however, will be opting out of the on again/off again HVAC relationship game this fall. We will, instead, embrace the cyclical changes by opening our windows during the day and throwing on an extra blanket at night. I'm hoping that this breath of fresh air will also sweep out the funky smell in the garbage disposal, since I can't just dump bleach down it like I used to. ;-)


Savings:

Our A/C has definitely worked overtime these past few months, with a long, hot and humid Virginia summer and giving it a break will definitely have a huge impact on our electric bill. Also, turning the furnace off will allow me to keep our water heater set at a lower temperature (the water tank somehow acts as our heat source) for just a little longer. During this wonderful period of flux -- 3 -4 weeks, maybe? -- I'm hoping to save roughly 200 kWh over what we used during the same time frame last year.


Difficulty Level: 1 out of 5

I'm from Upstate New York, and these crisp Autumn days are far and away my favorite time of year. To me, the cool weather makes me feel at home. I relish the newfound chill and love the fact that I can finally pull out my comfortable jeans and long sleeve t-shirts. So turning off the HVAC is literally 'no sweat'.