Everyone seems to think that it’s incredibly important to either have a really high-powered HVAC system that can heat or cool a house in minutes, or to have a super energy-efficient system that conditions a home without the need for fuel or making a lot of noise. No one seems to understand that there is more than one solution to heating or cooling your house! At my house, I have a plan for dealing with any temperature. For cooling, I’ll rely on my oscillating fan to produce a nice breeze around the house, and I’ll crack a window open for air circulation. If the day is considerably hotter, I’ll turn on a ceiling fan, and turn on my window-mounted A/C unit. When even this does not work on the hottest of days, I’ll turn on the whole-house fan several times throughout the day to get rid of the heat! When it gets cold outside, the same rules apply. I’ll wear a light sweater if it gets colder indoors, use a space heater when Winter really gets going, and during brutal freezes, I’ll have a fire going in my fireplace for the entire day! See, I use this step by step approach for heating and cooling my house for two reasons. One, I don’t have a central heating and air conditioning system. Two, I don’t need one either! In my last home, we used an HVAC system. We also paid hundreds of dollars a month in energy costs, so I swore to not put up with it again! Say what you will about the need for air circulation, but you get it from open windows and fans just fine!