How to Keep the Most Vulnerable Members of Your Household Comfortable

A variety of factors can cause some of us to feel the heat or the cold more acutely than others. Sometimes it's age; other times it's illness. For still others, it's just how we are. We each tend to have an internal thermometer that tells us our optimum temperature.

But for some vulnerable household members, their health may depend on maintaining a certain temperature. Fortunately, there are ways to do this without sacrificing efficiency or comfort for other members of the household.

Why Too Cold or Too Hot?

Vulnerable household members may suffer from being too hot or too cold for a variety of reasons. When people are too cold, it might be because of:

• Poor circulation. This is often due to age.

• Low body fat. Fat insulates.

• Low muscle tone. Muscles also help insulate the body.

• Tall people are often colder because circulating blood has more area to cover.

• Dehydration can make us feel colder. 

• Gender can have an effect, with women feeling colder (in general) than men because of genetic factors that make it harder to regulate body temperatures.

• Illnesses including thyroid problems, diabetes, and iron deficiency may make people feel cold.

Vulnerable household members who feel too hot may experience these conditions: being overweight; hyperthyroidism; and taking medications such as certain antidepressants, hormonal medications, antibiotics, pain relievers, and/or heart and blood pressure drugs. They might also suffer from diabetes or fibromyalgia.

How to Regulate the Temperature for Vulnerable Household Members

Any home may have hot or cold spots, inspiring requests to raise or lower the thermostat. One way to help vulnerable household members is to install a zoned system so that these individuals can control the temperature in the area of the home they live in. Other solutions include:

• Repairing faulty ductwork.

• Inspecting vents to make sure they work properly.

• Insulating rooms to help hold in the heat or AC.

• Adding window treatments to block sun in rooms that are too hot.

• Fixing leaks around windows with caulk and weatherstripping. 

For more on helping vulnerable household members feel more comfortable without sacrificing HVAC efficiency, contact Air Assurance of Broken Arrow.

Can Your House Get Too Cool in the Summer?

On a hot summer day here in northeastern Oklahoma, it’s tempting to believe that there’s no such thing as “too cool” when it comes to your home’s indoor environment. Yes, a well-maintained central air conditioning system should keep the household comfortable on even the hottest days. However, there can be too much of a good thing when it comes to pushing indoor temperatures down too far. Here are some reasons why “cool” is better than “too cool” inside your home.

AC Capacity Is Fixed

Central air conditioners are generally sized to a specific house with a BTU capacity sufficient to maintain indoor temperatures 20 degrees below what are typically the highest outdoor temperatures. No thermostat adjustments can make a unit extract more BTUs of heat than its rated capacity. Pushing thermostat settings excessively low on a very hot day simply results in longer and longer AC cycles, wasting energy and incurring wear and tear on your HVAC unit without making much difference in the indoor temperature.

Hot Is Attracted to Cold

The laws of thermodynamics dictate that heat energy always moves from a hotter zone into a cooler zone. The greater the differential between the outdoor and indoor temperatures, the more actively outside heat energy infiltrates the indoors by seeping through structural cracks and gaps, as well as areas where home insulation is not fully adequate to resist heat transfer. Narrowing the differential between indoor and outdoor temperatures — while still staying in the comfort zone — helps reduce heat gain.

"Too Cool" Costs More

A residential central air conditioner is engineered to run most efficiently at a thermostat setting around 78 degrees. AC efficiency declines as that setting is lowered. Pushing the thermostat down another 8 degrees to 70, for example, can boost monthly cooling costs by a full 10%. On the other hand, utilizing options to augment central air conditioning, such as high-efficiency ceiling fans that keep air moving, can allow you to increase the AC thermostat setting a few degrees above 78, saving money without decreasing the sensation of coolness.

For cool comfort without trying to be too cool this summer, contact the professionals at Air Assurance.