By Rachel Emma Silverman
It’s summer and another cold war is heating up: the battle over climate control in houses and offices across the country.
I live in a city where the temperature is hot year round. But you wouldn’t know it from being indoors in most buildings. Instead, arctic blasts of air conditioning make it necessary for me to bring a sweater or polar fleece with me whenever I leave the house, even on triple-digit days. (I’m one of those unfortunate people who is always cold, even in hot weather.)
The same held true of my old office back in New York. Even on the hottest days of the year, I’d sit hunched over my computer wearing a fleece or parka to warm up because of the icy air conditioning. One colleague even kept a space heater at her cubicle, even in summer. Unfortunately, as lowly worker bees, we had little control over our office building’s temperature.
At home, my husband and I, to save energy costs and usage, keep the house pretty warm in summer. We’re lucky we’re on the same page; the Washington Post recently profiled couples who almost reached the boiling point arguing over thermostat temperatures. (Men typically like temperatures cooler than women, according to numerous scientific studies.)
