There's one gadget you need. An indoor-outdoor thermometer. It’s simple yet smart, wireless and does its job very well … I aspire to have those credentials.
I love it. It's like watching teli, in fact I think it has a better plot line than some teli.
Today I'm sitting here inside my well insulated, well oriented, and draught-proofed home with the awnings and double-cell honeycomb blinds down and I'm cool. So cool. 25.4'C cool.
And I know it's hot outside, 31.9'C to be correct to one decimal place.
I know because of my gadget. I have the inside display sitting on the kitchen bench and the outside monitor in the south side of the house, out of the sun.
Such is my obsession with energy efficiency, I live by this little display. As soon as the temperature is hotter outside than in, I shut down - doors, windows, blinds. It’s automatic and habitual.
And then in the evening, as soon as it's cooler outside than in, I open it all up.
I was reminded the other day at a talk I was giving on how to beat the summer heat. Someone mentioned about how breezes can make you feel cooler. Yes they can but I do want to give you one rule with breezes! 4’ C is the magic number.
If it is a windy day and you can get that breeze through your house, you can open up your when it's up to 4'C hotter outside than in.
This is because having moving air around you makes you feel 4'C cooler (the same principle is applied to draughts in winter and why you feel so much colder if there is even a small draught). Any warmer than 4'C above the indoor temperature and you will just be getting hotter.
Mine was $20 from a local electronic shop but I imagine most of them are much the same but with different amounts of gadgetry.
So do it, get a little gadget. You might just find it’s better than …teli.
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