Much like the way I handle things inside the zone controlled HVAC of the office, I like to find consensus in finding solutions.
I’m a firm believer that having as many stakeholders involved in the outcome makes the results all the better.
And it was this sort of strategy that I applied to my family when it came to the HVAC cooling in our home. We live in a region where the heat is the big deal. For sure, air conditioning is a must have around here and going without it would be crazy. At the same time, I got awfully put out with the way the HVAC equipment was being used and the resulting HVAC costs. But talking, explaining and even pleading just hadn’t gotten me anywhere when it came to a consistent thermostat setting in our home. So I decided to involve all the stakeholders in an effort to really solve the high costs of HVAC cooling we’d been experiencing. I had to make saving worth everyone’s while. The first step there was giving everyone a goal that was common and immediate. Every year when we go on vacation, I’m no machine when it comes to all the stuff my kids and wife want to buy. So this year, I offered the family a deal. For all the money we saved on HVAC cooling, we’d apply to our family vacation at the end of summer. And voila, the thermostat stayed right where it was supposed to be. All I had to do was program the thermostat at the beginning of summer and it was left alone. True to my word, I kept a running tally of the savings all summer and we blew it out on summer vacation this year.