I know the thermostat wars are an old trope, but as I’ve gotten older i’ve found I can’t stand heat like I used to and my wife can’t stand cold. I’m assuming changes in body chemistry as we age, but wondering if this is common. Here in Texas we have really hot summers and it didn’t really bother me until recently (we’re both in our mid seventies).
Mrs. L.A. turns up the thermostat when the furnace is already warming up, as if turning up the thermostat will make the fan come on faster. When she comes in from outside, she’ll often kick up the thermostat even if the furnace has only just shut off. Last night I had to turn the heat down because I was roasting. She’d turned the thermostat to 80º.
I’m in my mid-70s and my skinny-ass husband is in his mid-50s. I was always sweating like a pig in normal temperatures, while he has always been cold. We compromised by dressing differently. But in the last several years, I have grown to feel colder than I used to. I don’t need as much A/C in the summer, and now we set the thermostat well into the 70sF in winter.
I think that for a lot of people it’s poor circulation, due, I think, to blocked arteries and failing heart. Which is an explanation for cold hands and feet. Conversely, if you overheat, it’s harder to get the blood out to the extremities to cool the core.
Feeling hot may indicate poor temperature regulation, which is more a “body chemistry” thing. I don’t know why old people are more at risk of heat stroke: I see things like “can’t sweat” and “body fat distribution” but not why it happens to old people.
Ha, I have the Nest app, all controls are within my control! 66 during the day, 63 at night, put a sweater on and a nightcap, add a comforter and a cat, happy? I hate paying high energy bills, $300 last month and we’re more efficient than our neighbors according to Consumers… I blame all the hot baths the youngster takes, hours in the tub hogging the hot water but we have instant hot so not like we run out, but one of these days she’ll see a card reader at the controls, pay to play honey.
My evil dad ran the local Credit Bureau years ago, and about 20 people worked there. People always griped that the office was too hot or too cold. One weekend, he had an electrician install several thermostats around the place. None of them were connected to anything, but the illusion of control completely eliminated the complaints. I did mention he was evil, didn’t I?
Relevant article (2018):
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/placebo-buttons-design/index.html
My wife and I are the other way around. I don’t turn the house into an oven, I feel like I have the “normal” personal thermostat. But she’s going through menopause, and always complains she’s roasting. We can’t cuddle on the couch for more than a few minutes because she says “you’re an oven!” and pulls away. Or when it’s time for us to go to bed, I discover she’s opened all the windows wide, in December, and turned out bedroom into an icebox. “Just cooling off the bed,” she says, sliding under a single sheet.
Another benefit of same-sex marriage. We now keep the house at 64 (day) and 62 (night), with occasional daytime jumps to 65 if the weather is clammy.
chela: “…one of these days she’ll see a card reader at the controls, pay to play honey.”
Right on dude. Fifteen years ago, when my niece would stay with me for a week, we had the same hot water usage battle. As for the thermostat, we both agreed to conserve and wore extra clothing in the house.