I did not lampoon the new federal recommendation from the Department of Energy saying that you should set your thermostat to 78 degrees in the summer, even though recommendations have a disturbing way of metastasizing into actual laws, particularly under Democrat presidents.
The Energy Star partisans at that agency also say that you should jack the temperature up to 82 degrees when you sleep, for the sake of -- what else? -- energy savings.
Talk radio legend Rush Limbaugh was among the people who did lampoon the new guidelines (on his show yesterday), and that made me happy. Whether this is a "perfect example of socialist government" I couldn't say, but I concur with Mr. Limbaugh's scorn for the idea that having a ceiling fan blowing on your face at night mitigates the discomfort of trying to sleep at 82 or 85 degrees.
While I do sometimes take an almost canine joy in having the wind blowing in my face, it's not ceiling fans that bring that joy. My air conditioning has been out of commission since early in May, and won't likely be replaced before next spring. Repair is not a viable option, given the age of the system and the Federal regulations outlawing R22 refrigerant by 2020. I make do with ceiling and floor fans, not to mention air conditioned public places.
With that as context, let me add that indoor temperatures in mid-Eighties and low Nineties don't make me feel virtuous; they just make me feel hot.
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