HOUSTON — It’s a debate that you may have been having in your home for years, but now everyone is having it online.
Energy Star, a government-run program for energy efficiency, says Americans should keep their thermostat at 78 degrees when they're home, and 82 degrees when they're asleep.
They also recommend you should raise the temp to 85 when you’re away if you want to save a bit on your bill. The Department of Energy says you’ll save about 3 percent on your bill for every degree you raise the set temperature.
So for energy efficiency, those numbers kind of make sense.
But when we’re talking comfort or even quality of life, they may be a little off – especially here in hot and humid Houston.
“And it feels like 103 most days, and you see how I'm hot and sweaty right now. There’s no way you should have your thermostat that high. You’re going to sit there and roast,” Jhmal Royster said.
If you need an argument against the savings, here’s little ammo to get you a good night’s sleep.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine says the temperature should be where you’re comfortable.
They say our bodies cool as we sleep and we can help them do that by keeping the room cool as well. They recommend a temperature in the 60s or low 70s.
And sleep doctors at Memorial Hermann are backing that up, saying the ideal temperature would be about 67 degrees.
So there you go. Sleep tight and stay cool.
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