Partnerships

It’s a Beautiful Day, Open Up!

Across many parts of the country we are in that golden period where beautiful days and chilly nights bring a welcome transition from the hot days of summer and make us think of the coming beauty of autumn colors and falling leaves. It is a time to open the windows and enjoy cross ventilation in our homes during the day and keep them open over night to cool down enough so that daytime temperatures do not over heat the house. With just a little bit of attention on our part, we improve the air in our homes and neither heat or cool our living space for, if we are lucky, several weeks. Collectively, this takes a significant bite out of our energy consumption nationally, if only for a short time. If one day, here or there, gets a bit too warm, use ceiling fans rather than closing up and turning on the air conditioning. If it is getting too chilly to keep all the windows open over night, use a blanket to stay warm in bed, or close one or two windows (for instance, in the bathroom to make showering comfortable) but let the house cool down enough so that all day long the home will feel good inside, even if the temperatures outside are approaching 80 degrees.