We had a surprisingly cold winter this last year.
There were multiple nights where my area had a freeze warning and I had to go outside and protect my plants from getting frost bitten. I’ll never forget how cold the air felt when I walked outside at 6am that day when the temperatures were at their lowest. This is strange because I live in a subtropical environment where it never snows. I have plants that will die if temperatures get so low that they could potentially freeze, or at least get coated with a layer of frost. That’s why I had to go outside and put blankets over my plants. I also put a towel around the water inlet valve outside so that the pipe couldn’t freeze. While I have a central furnace to stay warm, I opted to use my space heater this past winter to heat my house as they’re more efficient. I spend more money in the spring, summer, and autumn on cooling costs because of the fact that I live in this subtropical environment where 95 degree temperatures are the norm in the summer. I have to be careful with the air conditioner because experts tell me that I can’t put the indoor temperature any lower than 20 degrees below the heat index. So if the heat index is 100 or more one day, that means you shouldn’t try to set your central HVAC thermostat any lower than 80 degrees fahrenheit. I wish I was smart and followed these guidelines, but I usually keep my house as cool as 78 degrees during the hot summer seasons. Although, I pay to get regular HVAC service and maintenance to make sure my air conditioner lasts for years to come.