15 August 2008

Another letter to my Congressman

Even though my Congressman doesn't seem to read my emails, I am not giving up. I have written a new one with a practical band-aid solution for him to consider. If you would like to copy this and send it to your Senator or Congressman, please feel free.

Dear Mr. Hodes,

I am writing to you today to suggest a simple way to help folks control their heating costs this winter. My idea is to replace current thermostats with ones whose range is 40-70 instead of 55-90. It would be like the revision of speedometers in the 70s. If we include education on the benefits of wearing layered clothing and keeping our thermostats lower, we can reduce the amount of fuel needed to keep people warm this winter. A lower highest temperature will also help prevent accidental adjustments to high temperatures. Bumping the thermostat or a child's playing with one will no longer be able to turn one's home into a tropical jungle at 90 degrees. I would like to see Congress provide incentives to companies to make these low-range thermostats and encourage homeowners to install them.

Since the technology already exists, there should be no expensive retrofitting required for their manufacture, and most homeowners are competent enough to replace a simple thermostat, and if they are not, it is a simple matter for their energy company to do so.

Thank you for reading my idea.

Sincerely,
Judy Anderson

2 comments:

Kati said...

Good idea!!!! However, I WOULD argue that maybe 80 deg. might be a better upper limit. Not because I like my house set at 80 (heaven's no!) but I know a couple of elders that freeze at anything lower, even while bundled and wearing slippers and such. My hubby's grandma is one such lady. 70 might be just too low for some of these elderly folk who's circulation isn't efficient enough to keep them warm, even when properly dressed.

Great letter, though! And a definitely feasible change to a lot of lives.

Segwyne said...

If there are folks who need the temperature that high, then they wouldn't be required to change their thermostats. I want it to be an option is all. I don't know how many times I have walked into a jungle room in my house because the baby played with the dial. Yes, I agree that some folks cannot go that low in temperature, but that doesn't mean that most can't.