I was surprised that just a change in mindset could make such a big difference in the way I approached and used HVAC cooling.
But then again, I’m often surprised how a change in perspective and focus can offer tremendous upsides.
Getting stuck in certain mindsets is pretty easy for us humans to do over and over again. Our brains want to organize things based on comparisons and ease. Or at least that’s the way it often appears. So when it came to the air conditioning once I moved down south, my brain sort of took over the strategy without me doing much thinking on it. Where I came from there was HVAC cooling as part of the overall central air conditioning in our home. Yet, it was the gas furnace that was the predominant function when it came to the heating and cooling. There are 6 to 8 weeks a summer where the HVAC cooling really comes in handy. But outside of that, we just didn’t use much air conditioning. So when we moved down here, my brain just decided that since there was loads more heat then we need loads more HVAC cooling. It took me a few years to rethink the way I was approaching HVAC cooling. And really, all it took was having someone else help me see a completely different perspective. A local friend of mine suggested that I just deal with the heat instead of pumping more air conditioning into my life. More air conditioning made the heat just seem worse. So that’s what I did. I waited until almost summer to turn on the air conditioning and then, I kept the thermostat setting much higher. It worked like a charm.