“It’s freezing outside!”
“But it's only 40 degrees Fahrenheit.”
“Yeah, but the wind is blowing at 35 miles per hour, it feels like 28!”
“Oh, that’s cold...brrrr!”(1)

During these dog days of summer and at a time when the entire US seems to be shrouded under a wool blanket of extreme heat, we can only dream of having a wind chill and being too cold.  So, why am I being a meanie and talking about winter wind chill in August?  Because just how the wind freezes you to the bone in winter, it can cool you off during the summer.

Duh, you might think.  Everyone knows a cool breeze on a hot day can be welcome relief.  But it’s easy to forget that same phenomenon can help indoors as well as outdoors.  I was reminded of this when Ty, one of our engineers, threw open an office window one balmy afternoon and said, “now we’re wind powered!”  Opening windows and using fans to move the air can have a dramatic cooling effect during hot days.

So am I advocating never using the air conditioning?  Nope.  When the temperature reaches those dangerous highs - when weather reporters begin cooking eggs on the sidewalk - it’s important, especially for the young and elderly, to be in a cool place.(2)  But, leave that fan on!  A well placed fan will distribute the cool air from an air conditioning unit and provide that “cool breeze” on a hot day, inside.  You might even be able to set the temperature a few degrees higher.  Doing so could save 3-5% off your electric bill for each degree.(3)  (3 degrees higher with a typical bill of $200 would save you up to $30.  Dinner’s on you!)  Add an Urban Green Energy turbine and you could see your electric meter run backwards (aka: you could make money). 

So put up that UGE turbine, turn on that fan and spend these dog days of summer enjoying your wind powered wind chill!

References
1. http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/windchill/index.shtml
2. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp
3. http://www.aceee.org/consumer/cooling

Written by Kevin B Johnson