At Palmetto Carriage Works we know that hot, humid and sticky days are a thing of the South. And as the temperatures creep up, you can bet that we are making sure our animals are staying cool.
To ensure that our animals are never out in heat that they can’t handle, we use tools we can trust to measure the temperature. More specifically, we rely on our in-barn thermometers and the city’s thermometer to get the most accurate readings on temperature. We use our in-barn thermometers to track the temperatures of our animals after each tour and we use the city-monitored thermometer to tell how hot it is on the Charleston streets. (To keep our animals extra cool, we always make sure that not one animal comes through the barn without a cool down with our hose and some added relaxation from our misting fans!)
Some tools we can’t trust? Car thermometers. Did you know that car thermometers are not actually even thermometers? They’re devices called “thermistors” that actually gauge the heat by measuring the rising heat from off of the road combined with the heat coming off your car. Depending on where this thermistor is located in your car, can also add several degrees. A regular thermometer, such as we use for our internal purposes, is most accurate due to the fact that it uses mercury while the thermistor uses electrical currents for temperature reads.
Since keeping our animals safe and cool is always a top priority at Palmetto Carriage Works, we choose to rely on actual thermometers that we use in-barn for our animals and the city-monitored thermometer that we use to tell the outdoor temperature. So the next time you see us around while you are driving in downtown Charleston, don’t be alarmed if your car thermistor is looking a little too high – it’s not as trustworthy as the tools we use to make sure our animals stay cool.