A few weeks ago Ava inadvertently turned off our heat. As a result we had a very chilly night in our house. I woke up several times wondering why I was so cold, but in my freezing state I refused to get up and check the thermostat and instead tried to curl myself into a smaller ball to stay warm. Ava woke up several times too, crying out in her sleep, which I could only assume later was because she was too cold. I covered her up with her blanket each time, but she invariably kicked it back off again.
By the time we woke up in the morning and Jody went downstairs to check the thermostat (I stayed in bed with the blankets pulled up to my ears), the temperature in the house was down to 58 degrees. Yes, it was downright cold, but it also got me thinking. If we wore socks or added some extra blankets, could we survive turning our thermostat down a bit at night?
For the last year or so (in the winter), we’d done 68 degrees during the day and 67 degrees at night. The reason I had balked at going lower than that (other than the fact that I don’t want to be the heat tyrant that my dad was, though I understand now why he was) was that the kids tend to sleep without blankets on. We cover them up, they kick it off. I didn’t want them to wake up as little icicles in the morning, so I hadn’t tried turning the heat down.
Crunchy Chicken has had a “Freeze Yer Buns” challenge going on this winter to see how low people can go with their thermostats in the name of saving energy. I haven’t signed up because I don’t feel like I can compete with the majority of people who are involved in it. “62 during the day, 55 at night,” and many go even lower than that! But our little Ava turning the heat off impromptu experiment proved that we can stand to go a bit lower at night - not 58 degrees, but lower.
I know it’s a little late in the season and spring is right around the corner (though we got a few inches of snow tonight), but I decided to reset the thermostat to 67 degrees during the day and 66 at night (update: Oops! I wasn’t giving myself enough credit, I just checked the thermostat and it was set for 65 at night. Just knocked it down to 64. Yeah, I’m living on the edge now. *wink*), and we’ve been doing fine with that ever since. It’s only a slight change, but I have to think that every little bit counts. The kids still stay warm enough at night this way and I feel like I’m contributing in a small way. In fact, per Crunchy Chicken’s blog, “for each degree set below 68 degrees, energy consumption decreases by about 6 to 8 percent.” So our little change does make a difference! :)
What about you? What is your thermostat set at? Do you think you could lower it a degree or two? Will you? :) Not only do you save energy, you save money too!
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