In my previous post, I discussed the signs of climate change that I have personally seen. My husband has seen similar signs. This week, I would like to talk about one thing we are doing in order to do something.

We live in a condominium with an HVAC, also known as an electric heat pump. The HVAC unit produces air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter. From what I have read, HVAC units are more efficient than gas furnaces. We love ours, although we know it is at least 15 years old and we are dreading the day it gives up the ghost.

In the summer, we turn our thermostat to 76 or 77 degrees Fahrenheit. “But that’s boiling hot!” you say? Try turning your thermostat to 78 degrees, which is the temperature recommended by the US Department of Energy. Seventy-eight degrees has proven to be too warm a temperature for my husband, so we compromise. I have to admit that we turn the air conditioning to 75 degrees at night when we go to bed, but at least we are not like some of our friends, who keep theirs at 70 degrees all day and all night. (I hope said friends own stock in their power company.)

As for our power company, every month it sends an “energy report” to each of its customers, telling the customer how much energy they used compared to customers in similar homes and customers in the “efficiency zone” (the top 20 percent of homes with the least energy use). I’m glad to say that my husband and I have landed in the “efficiency zone” more than once. And even in the months when we do not, we always use significantly less power than the average of similar homes.

It is too bad that our condo association will not allow us to install solar panels on the roof of the building. My aunt and uncle have solar panels and are living completely off the grid. Similarly, their daughter (my cousin) and her family power their home with sunlight. I admire them very much for this, and I have to admit that I am a little envious.

What are your suggestions for mitigating climate change, one step at a time?