It’s a household war that can be a cause of marital strife. It pits partners against one another, encourages sneaking around and manipulation. For Christie Paterson, it’s a daily source of aggravation.
“I’m grumpy. I’m angry. I’m tense,” the Winnipeg mother-of-two said with a laugh.
Christie and her husband Shawn are in a standoff over two digits on their thermostat. She likes the temperature at 22 C. He prefers it at 20 C.
Experts in the field of furnace installation aren’t immune to the battle.
Keven Lackey, the owner of Edmonton-based Acclaimed! Heating, Cooling & Furnace Cleaning, says even he and his wife disagree about the number on the thermostat.
While he can’t solve the disputes, he can save couples money with tips for energy efficiency.
He suggests installing a high-efficiency furnace, cleaning your filter regularly and making sure your filter is the right size.
“Most people have an undersized filter in their house so even when that filter is clean you’re still restricting air flow through,” Lackey said.
“The easier you can make that furnace work, the less time your furnace is on, the less mechanical wear and tear it has on your furnace and it’s the number one money saver in my opinion.”