The People Setting These Ridiculous Temp Targets Should be SHOT

And, by shot, I mean ventilated with the output of a 12-guage until the Stupid Leaks Out.

The people running Energy Star, a program of the Department of Energy, are idiots. And, I say that with some authority, as I used to teach teenagers. Teens are at their LEAST sharp mental best, compared to the really smart kids they were, and the mentally superior adults they will be. But, for a few brief years, the commonest response to pointing out that what they just did could get them killed/maimed, is to say, "I didn't think."

Duh!

The "experts" have recommendations for setting our thermostats in the hot months (roughly 2/3rds to 3/4ths of the year in the South).

I'm just going to link to the Tweets.

Here's a screen shot. (I named the jpeg Energy DUMB).

Oh, Sweetie!

I'm 70. Although for most of my life, my tolerance for heat was pretty much like yours - it just didn't bother me all that much. Oh, sure, when I was a kid, and it was hot, I'd lay around the house, complaining, while blocking the rest of the family from that lovely and pre-Energy Star fan, which cooled the whole downstairs.

But, ever since hitting menopause, I've found that temps above 70 tend to turn me into one of those monsters in popular horror films. If you try to set the temp controls higher than around 75, I bare my teeth and snarl. If you don't back off, I've been known to make faces and sounds that could terrify Van Helsing, and leave him backing away, slowly.

I'm up right now, and have been for several hours, because my husband thinks like the Energy Star people. He may not realize it, but I get up in the middle of the night (sometimes several times) to lower the temps to something that lets me sleep through the night.

He gently 'reminds' me in the morning that I accidentally put the lower setting on hold, and that I should be careful, as that is very wasteful.

I nod back, with a bland and innocent expression on my face, and agree. I don't point out that I am NOT senile, but deliberately adjusting the temp to a level that permits uninterrupted sleep.

I've been married a long time. I pick my battles.

In the winter, I'll just get up for another blanket, or turn on the electric blanket. No problem.

But, in the summer, there is only so much that can come off. After that, it's lower the thermostat.

Here's the thing: in the South, we only change the temp maybe 20-30 degrees, at most. How much could that possibly cause global climate change?

In the North, they will jack up the heat to raise the temps 50 or MORE degrees. Now, THAT'S wasteful!

They should change the temperature the same percentage they want us to - less than 30 degrees. In many northern locations, that means that the pipes will freeze, people will turn into peep-cicles, and they will lay shivering and eating non-stop, trying to pile on the fat and keep the heat loss down.

My suggestion?

Keep your damn, dirty paws off my thermostat.