My husband and I enjoy entertaining in our home and do so frequently. Our floor plan is open and spacious, allowing for comfortable mingling at parties. We usually do the food preparation ourselves, although we have had it catered once or twice in the past. And we are very sensitive to the temperature comfort for our guests. That’s why we hired an HVAC contractor to install and maintain the very best heating and cooling system in the house. We received quite an education on our options and the models from which to choose. We also learned about the ‘people load’ consideration. The people load accounts for the amount of BTUs emitted from each person in a home. BTU stands for British Thermal Units, the standard unit of energy measurement used in the HVAC industry. If there are several people in a home, the btu’s increase, as does the heat in the room. If, for example, the people load is 400 btu’s for the average person and there are 20 people at a party, you would calculate 400 btu’s times 20 people. What we wanted our HVAC system to accomplish was to automatically adjust the temperature by sensing the people load at our gatherings. The solution was to place thermostat temperature sensors in appropriate locations. The locations of the sensors are best determined by a professional, according to our contractor. It would be counterproductive to place a sensor near a heat-emitting appliance or where direct sun shines. An interior wall in a central location with plenty of circulation is the best location for a temperature sensor. Agreeing to the recommendations of our HVAC contractor, we had the system and sensors installed, and we are already planning our next party.