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Some tips on spending the summer cooly and ecnomically
夏日涼快又省錢的妙招
With electricity costs rising along with global-warming guilt consumers across the country are struggling to wean themselves from the A/C. It remains to be seen whether they’ll take a cue from Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch and stash their undies in the icebox. But they’re trying just about everything else.
夾在電價上漲和全球變暖惡果之間的美國消費(fèi)者在是否應(yīng)關(guān)掉冷氣的問題上很是掙扎。不知道他們會不會從瑪麗蓮夢露的電影《七年之癢》中找到靈感，把內(nèi)衣褲裝在冰箱里，好隨時給自己降降溫。不過,其他所有能想到的辦法都被他們拿來一試了。
In Thousand Oaks, Calif., Adina Nack keeps the thermostat at 28- and lets her toddler dance around the house in a bathing suit, spritzing herself with cool water from a spray bottle. Cara Cummins, in Atlanta, turns on the air conditioner only when she's expecting guests. Otherwise, she makes do by snacking on watermelon cubes soaked in chilled bourbon.
家住加州千橡樹鎮(zhèn)的艾蒂娜奈克把空調(diào)溫度調(diào)到28度，并讓自己蹣跚學(xué)步的小孩穿著泳衣在家里亂走,還用噴水瓶給自己灑涼水降溫。亞特蘭大市的卡拉庫明斯只有在客人來家里時才把空調(diào)打開，其余時間她靠吃幾塊泡在冰鎮(zhèn)波旁威士忌里的西瓜來抵御酷暑。
Because many power plants run on natural gas, which has shot way up in price, utilities in every region of the nation have imposed or are planning big rate increases this year, some approaching 30%.
由于美國許多發(fā)電站都靠天然氣發(fā)電,而隨著燃?xì)鈨r格暴漲, 今年全美各地電價要么已大幅上調(diào)，要么正在籌劃漲價,有的地方電價漲幅甚至逼近了30%。
In response, nearly two thirds of families are cutting back on air conditioning, according to a recent Associated Press and Yahoo News poll. They're buying ceiling fans and programmable thermostats; burning up hot afternoons in malls and movie theaters; and bombarding blogger Erin HufiF-stetler, who writes about frugal living, with questions about the merits of tinting their windows dark to block the sun.
據(jù)美聯(lián)社和雅虎新聞的最新聯(lián)合調(diào)查顯示，將近2/3的美國家庭都因此減少了空調(diào)的使用。他們添置了吊扇和可編程控溫器;去商場和電影院度過炎熱的夏日午后，并向撰寫博客介紹如何勤儉持家的艾琳哈弗斯泰德勒提出了一大堆問題，比如怎么把窗戶染黑，減少陽光的照射等。
In Arizona, 50,000 customers of the Salt River Project utility have cut energy use by an average of 13%, thanks to a gizmo that lets them monitor their daily bill, so they can see exactly how much they save by bumping up the thermostat a few degrees. In Texas, Reliant Energy reports an 8% drop in per-customer energy use since 2005.
在亞利桑那州，鹽河項(xiàng)目的5萬名用戶已平均減少了 13%的用電量,原因是他們安裝了一個能實(shí)時顯示每日用電量的小儀器，這樣他們可以清楚地看到如果把室溫調(diào)髙幾度就能少用多少電。能源企業(yè)Reliant Energy表示,德克薩斯州的人均用電量自2005年以來減少了8%。
The Department of Energy calculates that heating and cooling account for nearly half the energy used in a typical home. That’s more than all the light bulbs, the dishwasher, the refrigerator, the hot-water heater and the washer and dryer-combined.
美國能源部做過計(jì)算,一棟普通住宅供應(yīng)暖氣和冷風(fēng)的用電成本占了總電費(fèi)的近一半,比一個家庭中燈泡、洗碗機(jī)、冰箱、熱水器、洗衣機(jī)和烘干機(jī)全部加起來的耗電量都要多。
Replacing a standard air conditioner set at 22 degrees with an energy-efficient model set at 25.5 can cut your cooling costs in half, though savings vary by climate, according to Xcel Energy Inc., a regional utility based in Minneapolis. A programmable thermostat can save as much as 12%. A ceiling fan can lower a room’s temperature by several degrees. Even something as simple as switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs can make a big difference in electricity bills‘
明尼阿波利斯市的地方公用事業(yè)企業(yè)埃克西爾能源公司表示,如果把標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的22攝氏度室內(nèi)空調(diào)溫度改為25.5度的節(jié)電模式,大約能夠節(jié)省一半的電費(fèi),當(dāng)然,具體程度根據(jù)外界溫度而有所不同。安裝一個室內(nèi)溫控器可以節(jié)省12%的電費(fèi),在天花板上安裝吊扇可以降低幾度室溫,甚至使用節(jié)能燈泡都有助于顯著減少電費(fèi)。
Micki Wehmeier offers another tip: Marry a man who likes it hot.
米琪韋麥爾還有一個小竅門:嫁給一個不怕熱的老公。
Ms. Wehmeier and her husband, Gaiy, are renting a modest apartment tiiis summer while they fix up a house they just bought in Des Peres. To save money, they resolved to keep the thermostat at 24.
今年夏天，韋麥爾太太和她丈夫蓋瑞要給剛在密蘇里州Des Peres買的房子裝修,于是租了一個小房子過渡一下。為了省錢,他們決心把室內(nèi)溫度調(diào)到24度.
“He’s got more willpower，” his wife says.
米琪說道:“他的意志力比我堅(jiān)定。”
And Heba Kennedy, who turned off her central air altogether?
那么,關(guān)掉中央空調(diào)的瑞芭肯尼迪境況如何呢？
Ms, Kennedy now cools just the three rooms she uses most in her San Antonio home, with window units set at 25.5 degrees. To her surprise, she has found it pleasurable. With her downstairs windows open, she can smell the honeysuckle in her yard. She loves the look of her sheer curtains blowing in the breeze.
現(xiàn)在,住在圣安東尼奧的瑞芭只在最常用的3個房間使用窗式空調(diào),溫度調(diào)為25.5度。令她沒想到的是，這種降溫方法能讓人過得很舒服《她把樓下的窗戶打開，院子里金銀花的香味陣陣飄來,而且她還喜歡看到微風(fēng)撩起窗簾的樣子。
Last week, though, when she reviewed her electric bills, Ms. Kennedy found tliat her sacrifices haven’t translated into savings. In June of 2006 with the central air on full blastshe used an average of 26-kilowatt hours a day. Last month? An average of 44.
然而,上周她收到電費(fèi)賬單時,發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的犧牲沒有得到應(yīng)有的回報(bào)。2006年6月份——中央空調(diào)完全打開的那個月，家里每天的平均耗電量是26度。但2008年6月份呢？每天的平均耗電量是44度。
Harvey Sachs, a senior fellow at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, says that isn’t surprising, because window units are notoriously inefficient.
美國節(jié)能經(jīng)濟(jì)委員會的資深成員哈維薩奇說，這并不奇怪,因?yàn)榇笆娇照{(diào)非常費(fèi)電。
Her advice to middle-class families: Pull the plug.
她對中產(chǎn)階級家庭的建議是:拔掉電源插頭。
