Denver City Government Implements a Radical Money-Saving Idea

I loved this story from the Rocky Mountain News about how the government of the City of Denver saved money this past summer: they turned up the thermostats in their office buildings by four degrees. How radical! Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper's program saved the city (and thus, saved Denver taxpayers) nearly $30,000 in just two months, July and August 2008. How did city employees cope with the slightly warmer temperatures in their offices? They just took off their jackets and ties! Some people didn't even notice a difference in the temperature. It was a simple money-saving solution that cost taxpayers exactly nothing to implement, and without any noticeable negative effects.

There are two take-aways from this:
1) Simple ideas are often the best ideas and the easiest to implement.
2) Dressing for the season makes sense (i.e., shed the jacket in August and put on a sweater in January.)

Try this right now: go over to your thermostat and turn it down a few degrees. See if you notice the difference. You probably won't, and if that's the case then you will be saving yourself money and lowering the amount of carbon your heating system puts into the atmosphere. If you do notice the change, then ... put on a sweater! It is January, after all.