For some reason, we Americans tend to overdo some things, and one of them is air conditioning. Yes, during the hottest days of summer, people in my building are wearing coats. Where I went to college, the winters brought 98 degree heat - inside!

 It seems to be a constant. Whatever the weather, we overcompensate for it. Hey, energy is cheap. There's lots of air. Why not?

 Rutgers University, a few years back, issued an internal bulletin because they were proud of the hundreds of thousands of dollars they had saved through simple, even "duh"-level, measures. Yet, just after this circular was sent around, they built a new library with an atrium the size of, well, some college libraries. An atrium is a massive amount of empty space which must be heated and cooled, just like any other amount of space. The only difference is that an atrium just sits there and looks pretty. That'll put a pretty big dent in their energy budget - enough to buy quite a few books.

 What makes that sort of behavior worse is the predictable next step - cooling the atrium to below 70 degrees in the middle of the summer. On top of the waste of having it in the first place is the incredible waste of making it uncomfortably cool. Your tax dollars at work.

First, let's be sensible in our own lives. We can lower the air conditioning when we're cold, lower the heat when we're hot. In our cars, we can leave the "mix" lever (that mixes hot and cold air) on "full cold" when we're running the air conditioner, and turn the fan to its minimum setting when we're too cold with the a/c and too hot without it. That will let the air conditioning cycle itself on and off, increasing gas mileage quite a bit.

 You've heard that before. Now, let's talk about what we can do about the real energy hogs - overheated, overcooled buildings.

 The excuse I've gotten is that "this is an old building, the heat / air isn't designed that well." That may be, but it's more likely the people giving that excuse just don't think it's important enough to care about.

 If radiators are used, regulators can be purchased at little cost which allow individuals to maintain the temperature they prefer. These will pay for themselves in energy savings quite quickly, possibly even the same year. Broken valves can be replaced fairly easily and quickly. This isn't rocket science; it's simply controlling the delivery of steam or hot water.

Forced-air heat and air conditioning is easier, in some ways. Many vents are now sold with adjustable louvers, which let you shut off airflow or cut it down without much effort. These are extremely cheap and usually easy to install. Baffles, which are simply thin sheets of metal costing practically nothing, can also be installed. There is simply no excuse for letting a room or an entire floor be cooled to uncomfortable temperatures.

 Sometimes, I think air temperature is like a computer system: it's easy to let everyone have it their way, but the people in charge want to have total control. They will make up excuses to say why they must remain in charge of the heat and air, and why it cannot be changed, when anyone can see that it's just not that hard.