Althouse: "Would it be crazy to turn on the heat? It's 61° inside!"

May 20, 2015

"Would it be crazy to turn on the heat? It's 61° inside!"

Soul-searching in Madison, Wisconsin, where the outdoor temperature is 43° on May 20th.

For the record, the quote in the post title is me. The response, from Meade, was: "Just put on another jacket."

64 comments:

BarrySanders20 said...: Cratchit and Scrooge.; 5/20/15, 8:34 AM
Jaq said...: I agree with Meade. it is cold here too. If it were to stay this cold all day, I might start a fire though.; 5/20/15, 8:35 AM
Tank said...: For God's sake, turn the heat on a be comfortable.

Or no, Meade is right, you should be uncomfortable in your own house all day to save a couple of dollars, cause, you can't afford to spend $5 to be comfortable all day.; 5/20/15, 8:43 AM
American Liberal Elite said...: The forecast high for Madison is 57º today. Your house won't warm up without some help. If I were you, I would turn the heat to 65º and turn it off once the chill had left the house. Tell Meade that a cold wife is an unhappy wife.; 5/20/15, 8:43 AM
tim maguire said...: It's pretty cold here as well and I'm reluctant to turn on the heat in late May. It's not cheapness or self-abnegation, I just can't bring myself to turn on the heat in late May.

Just a couple days ago we were thinking of turning on the air conditioning. I couldn't do that either, I can't go from heat to air without at least a month of open windows between.; 5/20/15, 8:44 AM
Tank said...: @tim

I'm opposite, and have had the AC and heat on on the same day many times. I've worked hard for almost 50 years and why the hell should I be uncomfortable in my own house to save a very few dollars. I keep the temperature inside at 70 all year long, whatever system it takes.; 5/20/15, 8:48 AM
DanTheMan said...: 91 here in Florida today.
And we're all wearing shorts. Of course.; 5/20/15, 8:49 AM
Meade said...: "Cratchit and Scrooge."

Ha ha! I'm a Scrooge Stooge.; 5/20/15, 8:56 AM
Etienne said...: Depends on who pays the utilities.

When my wife complains about me setting the thermostat to 68, and saying we could use the money for groceries, I hand her $20 and tell her to go away.

Seems to work. She keeps taking the $20's anyway...; 5/20/15, 8:56 AM
Jaq said...: . It's not cheapness or self-abnegation, I just can't bring myself to turn on the heat in late May.

Exactly! I really don't give a crap about maybe a half a gallon of oil, the boiler is running anyway to heat the water, and I have radiant heat in my hardwood floors, so if feels nice on winter days under bare feet, but I just can't do it.

Like I said, I could start a fire if it stays cold all day. Right now it is 46 outside, according to weatherunderground, and I am quite comfortable in shorts with an afghan.; 5/20/15, 8:59 AM
Ann Althouse said...: It's not about the money.

It's more about:

1. We're lucky it's not hot. Later, it will be hot, and we'll remember these cool days fondly.

2. Stay natural. Keep in touch with nature. If you stand right fronting and face to face to a fact, you will see the sun glimmer on both its surfaces, as if it were a cimeter, and feel its sweet edge dividing you through the heart and marrow, and so you will happily conclude your mortal career. Be it life or death, we crave only reality. If we are really dying, let us hear the rattle in our throats and feel cold in the extremities; if we are alive, let us go about our business.; 5/20/15, 9:00 AM
Laslo Spatula said...: Whatever temperature that keeps the ladies scantily clad.

I am Laslo.; 5/20/15, 9:02 AM
Jaq said...: I admit that the heat might be on if the women folk were around. They went on a little trip. I would have started a fire first thing to prevent it though.; 5/20/15, 9:06 AM
rhhardin said...: Turn on some computers, incandescent lights, TVs. Every watt turns to heat.

Or just put on ear muffs. Head heat preservation goes a long way.; 5/20/15, 9:07 AM
Annie said...: It's 54 here. 65 inside. I compromised and turned the heat on the downstairs unit.; 5/20/15, 9:08 AM
Pettifogger said...: In South Texas, if we didn't run the heat at 43 degrees, we wouldn't run it much.; 5/20/15, 9:12 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Air squats.; 5/20/15, 9:17 AM
Lyssa said...: Heh, we're having the opposite debate at my house over the past several weeks - but not even whether to turn on the AC, but how low to set it. I think that 78 is good enough; he's suddenly decided that the house should not rise above 75. We're already tickling 90 and will be pushing triple digits in a month or so; keeping at 75 will cost a fortune.; 5/20/15, 9:23 AM
Dopey said...: Low sixties last night in Nashville -- had a fire last night on the terrace. Low temperatures here usually mean that Al Gore is back home for a while.; 5/20/15, 9:25 AM
Lyssa said...: And shorts are a given (or dresses, for 8 month pregnant me). I don't think that I've seen my husband in long pants in at least a month.; 5/20/15, 9:25 AM
Tank said...: Ann Althouse said...
It's not about the money.

It's more about:

1. We're lucky it's not hot. Later, it will be hot, and we'll remember these cool days fondly.

2. Stay natural. Keep in touch with nature.

1. Lucky it's not hot, so let's be uncomfortably cold !

2. Stay natural, be uncomfortable.

LOL, different strokes ...; 5/20/15, 9:33 AM
Original Mike said...: "1. We're lucky it's not hot. Later, it will be hot, and we'll remember these cool days fondly."

Yep. Great day to work outside.; 5/20/15, 9:35 AM
Peter said...: Well, the narrator in Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" had 1,369 (presumably incandescent) lights in his basement home. "My hole is warm and full of light," he said.

And your home will also be warm and light, should you outfit it with 1,369 incandescent lamps. Unless you blow a fuse blows, of course. Or anger your environmentalist neighbors to pitchfork fury.; 5/20/15, 9:37 AM
MadisonMan said...: It was that cold in our house too. I was wearing a sweater and a jacket.

What a warm relief to come into work!; 5/20/15, 9:40 AM
CStanley said...: Why is it crazy to turn on the heat but not crazy to add more layers of clothing?; 5/20/15, 9:42 AM
MadisonMan said...: Great day to work outside.

The house two doors up is being painted. The painters looked cold. It needs to be about 5 degrees warmer.; 5/20/15, 9:43 AM
Richard Lawrence Cohen said...: You've made your bed, Ann, and now you have to lie in it -- wearing two jackets!

Here in Austin the temperature is always a pleasant 68 in winter, 75 in summer.; 5/20/15, 10:03 AM
Hagar said...: Birds of a feather, flock together.; 5/20/15, 10:05 AM
Tank said...: @Cohen

Last Sept, when we were in Austin, it was 95 degrees !!!

Perfect for a cool beverage.; 5/20/15, 10:08 AM
Hunter said...: You could always grab an electric blanket. (I'm imagining Althouse and Meade re-enacting that Wally/Andre discussion on the merits of eschewing modern comforts for the sake of enhanced mindfulness.)

As for me, the house stays between 68-72 no matter the season. Whether on any given day that means AC or heat, or both. I get my dose of natural climate by driving the Miata with the top down, or stepping out in the back yard. Inside is for being comfortable.; 5/20/15, 10:21 AM
Smilin' Jack said...: 1. We're lucky it's not hot. Later, it will be hot, and we'll remember these cool days fondly.

You're lucky to be in Madison, too. Only three months till winter!; 5/20/15, 10:25 AM
Tom Swift and His Ultrasonic Cycloplane said...: Attic Fan...
I live in my family house built in the 50's. There's a fan mounted in the ceiling of the hallway in the middle of the house.
It works perfectly to balance inside and outside temps (depending on the temp you are shooting for)
Wonderful in the spring and fall.
When I was a kid(before air conditioning)I could smell the aroma of the Merita Bakery a half mile away baking fresh bread at night....and the honeysuckles in summer.....mmmmmm
Don't know if it saves any money but it sure is nice.

Do they even put these in houses anymore?; 5/20/15, 10:26 AM
Peter said...: "The house two doors up is being painted. The painters looked cold.

Manufacturers of exterior paints specify a minimum air temperature for using their paints; that's usually at least 50F for latex paints.

Perhaps they didn't read the label?; 5/20/15, 10:31 AM
James Pawlak said...: Just tunnel the hot air of UW's politically correct academics to your house.; 5/20/15, 10:32 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: You shouldn't be expected to be comfortable indoors at a temperature less than 62 degrees.; 5/20/15, 10:43 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: 78 degrees was the thermostate setting set by Congress for office buildings in 1978. Jimmy Carter had proposed making it 80 degrees but Congress amended it to 78.

Practically Ronald Reagan's first act as president was to sign a waiver for that, and the law has never been revived.

It passed by a voice vote in the House and with very little debate ion the Senate. Lowell Weicker was one of the people speaking for it.; 5/20/15, 10:46 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: http://www.upi.com/Archives/1980/12/29/Energy-Department-wants-thermostat-controls-extended/4763346914000/

The Energy Department has quietly urged President Carter to extend controversial restrictions on building temperatures until next fall, an agency spokesman confirmed Monday.

If Carter extends the rule with an executive order, it could provide an early test of President-elect Ronald Reagan's conservation and energy policy, since several associates have attacked government energy conservation moves.

Aren't you glad Reagan won?

Too bad, we still have this unnecessary draft registration, which no Presdident since has dared to get rid of.; 5/20/15, 10:49 AM
Dr.D said...: Why do you have heat in your house if it is not to use when it is cold outside? Does the calendar rule the weather? I think not, as we are seeing this year.; 5/20/15, 10:51 AM
khesanh0802 said...: Here in MN we have the wood stove going lightly, feels great!; 5/20/15, 10:52 AM
Sammy Finkelman said...: That news aricle says it was a 1975 law, but it was later. I looked it up in the Congressional Record.

And here is this:

http://library.cqpress.com/cqalmanac/document.php?id=cqal79-1184158

Congress approved only one of the four plans submitted by President Carter to conserve energy during periods of energy shortages.

The proposal to restrict temperatures in non-residential buildings was approved by the Senate May 2 and by the House May 10.; 5/20/15, 10:52 AM
TosaGuy said...: Working from home today and have a sweatshirt and slippers on. Still turned on the furnace because my hands are cold and typing with cold hands sucks.; 5/20/15, 10:56 AM
Birches said...: I turned our heat back on on Monday. I was freezing and couldn't take it anymore. A fire might have done the trick, but I've got a crawler with a death wish, so central heating seemed like a better choice.; 5/20/15, 10:56 AM
Dr.D said...: "Here in Austin the temperature is always a pleasant 68 in winter, 75 in summer."

What a load! I live in Austin over 10 years, and I never saw anything remotely like that. Must have changed a lot (global warming/climate change?).; 5/20/15, 10:58 AM
Wilbur said...: Dr. D, I took it to mean inside his house, not the outdoors.

The issue in cool or cold weather is bathing. I refuse to get out of a shower and shiver.

I don't face that problem too often in Miami.; 5/20/15, 11:13 AM
MadisonMan said...: Why do you have heat in your house if it is not to use when it is cold outside?

We try not to turn our heat on 'til mid-November. It's plenty cold by then.

Embrace the seasons, don't hide from them.; 5/20/15, 11:35 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Do you put the air conditioning on when it's just 78° and you're feeling too warm?

At least with coolness, you do have the option of adding another sweater.; 5/20/15, 11:48 AM
Ann Althouse said...: It's STILL 61° in here! I put a jacket on over my sweater and eventually got too hot and took it off.

Meanwhile, outdoors, it's crept up to 46°.; 5/20/15, 11:50 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I'm wearing these very warm slippers.; 5/20/15, 11:53 AM
Petunia said...: I turned the heat back on yesterday. I did it for the cats, of course. Poor little darlings were cold.; 5/20/15, 11:59 AM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: Do you put the air conditioning on when it's just 78° and you're feeling too warm?

Absolutely. That's way I have AC.; 5/20/15, 12:03 PM
Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...: If I wanted to get back to nature I would sign up for the upcoming season of "Naked and Afraid."; 5/20/15, 12:10 PM
mikee said...: It isn't always the temperature, sometimes it is the humidity.

Here in Texas we've had a wet, low temperature Spring.

Yesterday inside temp was 76F, but the humidity was approaching 100% in my living room without AC.

AC set at 74F solved the mugginess inside quite well.; 5/20/15, 12:30 PM
Dave in Tucson said...: > We're lucky it's not hot. Later, it will be hot, and we'll remember these cool days fondly.

Amundsen's last words; 5/20/15, 12:30 PM
Owen said...: But...but...global warming!

At what point will data from our own experience be allowed to suggest any climate "reality" (and policies predicated on that) other than catastrophic global warming, I mean climate change, I mean climate disruption, I mean extreme weather?

Asking for a friend.; 5/20/15, 12:36 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: Amundsen's last words

Scott. Amundsen made it back.; 5/20/15, 12:51 PM
MadisonMan said...: At what point will data from our own experience

Do you live over the entire Globe?; 5/20/15, 1:19 PM
William said...: Why do people thinkthere's something virtuous about their ability to endure cold. People who can whistle through hot muggy weather don't brag about it.; 5/20/15, 1:55 PM
Unknown said...: Ann,
You do realize that although we are in a peak period of the 24 Solar cycle, we are experiencing the lowest output of sunspots in 3 years. Our local star is not generating and expelling the heat it normally does. Solar luminescence appears to be in stasis and may be declining.

Reduced sunspot activity usually produces climate cold spells. Perhaps the globe is cooling.

Maybe you Meade should consider re-insulating your house (exterior only) with aerogel insulating panels or carpets from the CABOT Corp in Boston. They are very efficient thermal, hydro, kinetic and electro magnetic insulators. You can put them up right over the stucco and brick on your home's exterior and then cover them with Tyvek and stucco. Your indoor climate problems should disappear.; 5/20/15, 2:35 PM
MadisonMan said...: Reduced sunspot activity usually produces climate cold spells.

Oh for God's sake.

Madison is cool today because the wind is from the north and it's cloudy. Clouds have reduced insolation far more today than any meager change due to sunspots.; 5/20/15, 4:10 PM
Meade said...: " the wind is from the north"

Apparently, SOMEone needs a weatherman...; 5/20/15, 6:12 PM
Meade said...: If I wanted to get back to nature I would sign up for the upcoming season of "Naked and Afraid."

It doesn't have to be either/or. What's wrong with "Naked (except for slippers) and Fearlessly Frisky"?; 5/20/15, 6:25 PM
Jaq said...: I can't explain it, but it is probably 62 in here, but I am not uncomfortable.

If being warm all the time was the most important thing to me, I would move to Hawaii or San Diego.; 5/20/15, 8:50 PM
ken in tx said...: During most of my 24 year Air Force career, local commanders decreed when summer and winter uniforms were authorized. It was always based on the calendar, not the temperature.

In the South Korean AF, they would not allow heating oil to be issued to offices after a certain date, no matter how cold it was. This resulted in a fire and explosion because someone used jet fuel to heat an office one time.; 5/20/15, 9:12 PM
Char Char Binks, Esq. said...: It's been said that in America a person may say, "It's cold, I'll turn on the heat.", and in Europe someone will say, "I'm cold, I'll put on a sweater." I say the AC and heat should stay off all through May. Give homeostasis a chance.; 5/20/15, 10:24 PM