What is it like to live in the AZ heat? True story.

[DreamGypsy]

31. Managing the summer 'heat' in Oregon.

Welcome to the land of the Oregon Country Fair...

...you're arriving early, but it does take a bit of the time to prepare your costume...or lack thereof...for the fair.

I spent four hot hours this afternoon mowing around the blueberry fields. My t-shirt was soaked. However, the weather station out in the fields reports the max today was only 89 degrees, min 56.2, average 78.2, and currently 65.3 (10 pm). The current temperature inside the house is 74.

That max/min difference is important.

An hour ago the inside temperature was 76, a little below outside average, but the high for the day inside. The current outside air felt cooler, so we performed the summer evening ritual of opening windows north and south downstairs, east, west, and south upstairs. Tonight, when the temperature drops to somewhere around the predicted low of 57 degrees, the house will cool to mid- to low-60s. We start these night with blankets off, but they often return during the night.

In the morning, depending on the planned inside/outside activities for the day we close the windows to establish a good base temperature. Our house is generally well insulated, BUT we have a lot of windows (important for dreary Oregon winter days) that allow a lot of sunlight penetration. We've done well if at 2 pm, when the dogs are panting outside at 87 degrees, they (or we) can come inside to rest at a moderate 66. On the hottest days of the year, we may decide to use the heat pump for some late afternoon cooling, but that happens a few times per summer at best. Otherwise, we let the cool nights and a well-built house provide our electricity free 'air conditioning'.

It's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing.