Despite high temps, weather inside is frightful

Now that summer has arrived, hot temperatures have kicked in, too.

People everywhere are looking to keep cool — snow shacks, movie theaters and malls are popular places to escape the heat.

For some, summer heat means applying sunscreen, wearing shorts and playing in water to keep cool. For others, summer has an entirely different feeling.

“Obviously, it’s pretty cold in here,” said Brian Jensen.

For Jensen and the rest of the employees at a local ice-making company, their workplace maintains a 30 degree temperature year-round.

“We have five 10-ton ice machines, and we produce around 40,000 pounds of ice a day,” said Jensen. “We store it in our freezers. We have five large freezers and each one is roughly the size of a basketball court. Those freezers stay anywhere between minus 10 to zero degrees … anywhere in there.”

With temperatures like that, it’s not unusual for workers to wear jackets, coveralls, gloves and hats to work, no matter what the season.

“Sometimes, when you get off work and you’re in a hurry and you take off your coat, but you still have your coveralls on and you run into the store, and people look at you funny,” said Jensen. “But I’ve gotten used to it.”

Power companies suggest setting thermostats to 78 degrees to help keep your home or apartment cool while saving money on your power bill.

Power is a summer-peaking utility, and having a good AC system is a must. Regular tune-ups on these systems could improve your power bill.

Keeping an eye on when your appliances are in use is also a money saver.

“Use your appliances during the evening hours, because they do produce heat,” said Glen Pond, Rocky Mountain Power. “If you use your appliances during the evening, that really helps the system, because there isn’t a high demand during the evening hours.”