I’m sure everyone has heard of the ice bucket challenge, which was hugely popular a few years ago.
It was supposed to be a charitable social media challenge, in which people dumped a big bucket of ice water on themselves and any proceeds raised during the stunt went to charity.
Well, I’ve been conducting a similar challenge for myself lately. I call it the no-HVAC challenge, and it serves as a charitable activity for my personal bank account. You see, I recently realized how very expensive it is to own and operate an HVAC system, simply in the name of having moderate comfort at home. I don’t use my heating and cooling system extravagantly, yet my monthly electricity bill is always through the roof somehow. That’s why I decided to challenge myself not to use my central heating or cooling at all, for as long as possible, and to “donate” the saved money straight into a savings account which will be used to fund a brand new HVAC system. I started my challenge during the most mild months of the year, with the hope that the weather would cooperate enough for natural ventilation to keep me comfortable. So far the road has been rough, but I have stayed strong and kept my thermostat powered off for over two months now! I’m halfway to being able to afford my new heating and cooling components and I couldn’t be more excited. Hopefully, this new updated version of my furnace and air conditioner will be more energy efficient, so I won’t have to ban myself from using them.