Why is 72 degrees on the thermostat too cold in the summer but too hot in the winter?

Question

My dad was a perpetual thermostat Nazi, so I grew up getting used to sweating at night in 78 degrees temps and utterly freezing in the winter with the thermostat down to 64.

Now my husband complains because I am used to these temperature settings but he is not, and we get in fights over it. His dad was one of those thermostat Nazis too. But now he says "I earn the money, I pay the bills, and if I need the thermostat set to 72 at night so I can sleep, that's how it has to be!"

The problem is, now when he sets it to 72 at night in the summer, I'm freezing. Or when he sets it to 72 in the winter, I'm dying of heat.

He also complains that my body temp goes up 2-4 degrees every 4 weeks... PMS hormones... he says "You're thermonuclear again!" and hits the thermostat down... and then I'm freezing.

But I don't know how to answer him when he hits me with the simple logic: why is 72 in the summer "too cold" while 72 in the winter is "too hot"?

Why does it feel that way?

Answer 1

It has to do with the amount of water vapor in the air. This is the correct answer. In the winter we have much lower water vapor so 72 seems cooler , due to the low humidity. In the summer 72 seems warm due to the high humidity. It has to do with how the body reacts to the temperature and the humidity in the house.

Answer 2

Two record high temps for an area are no more proof of global warming than a couple record cold days are evidence against. If you want to know what the climate is doing, you need to collect data for large areas of the globe for long periods of time. I agree that global warming (irrespective of the cause) is now undeniable, but a couple warm days in January doesn't show it.

Answer 3

1

Answer 4

It's called indoctrination. Have you not noticed that the average of 78 and 64 is 71?

Answer 5

inefficient furnace and bad insulation

when thermo is set to 72 the house should be 72
but if there is heat loss in winter it will be colder than 72 and heat gain it will be hotter than 72

could be psychological.

hope that helps

the furnace guy LOL

Answer 6

That is a very good question. Here is an interesting article on the subject.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/13/AR2006081300607_pf.html