Question of the Week: Why do you keep your home as cool (or not) as you do?
Posted on June 9th, 2008 - 10:30 AMEach week we ask a question related to the environment. Please let us know your thoughts as comments. Feel free to respond to earlier comments or post new ideas. Previous questions.
It’s getting hot! Air conditioning makes our homes much more comfortable during hot weather, but a million air conditioners running at once have environmental impacts. A programmable thermostat helps reduce the impacts by cooling only when you need it.
Why do you keep your home as cool (or not) as you do?
Follow-up: Summary of the comments submitted for this blog entry.
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En español: Cada semana hacemos una pregunta relacionada al medio ambiente. Por favor comparta con nosotros sus pensamientos y comentarios. Siéntase en libertad de responder a comentarios anteriores o plantear nuevas ideas. Preguntas previas.
¡Se están calentando los días! El aire acondicionado hace los hogares más confortable durante el temporada de calor, pero el tener un millón de unidades de aire acondicionado funcionando a la vez tiene impactos ambientales. Un termostato programable ayuda a reducir los impactos al refrescar la temperatura sólo cuando realmente lo necesita.
¿Por qué enfría su casa (o no la enfría) de la manera que lo hace?
Tags: air conditioning, programmable thermostat
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Question of the Week
June 9th, 2008 at 11:27 am
We just turned our AC on a few days ago. Here in the Baltimore area we have had a cooler than usual spring time but have now been hit with a hotter than usual week for this time of year. It’s especially difficult as we have not had time to acclimatize, though honestly heat is something I never get used to. We tried keeping our AC on 78 all weekend mostly to remove the humidity. It really is still too warm for me unless I am just sitting and not doing anything. Last night I lay in bed soaked in sweat so I suspect we may move the thermostat down a bit to probably 75. It’s just not healthy to try to save money by being too hot. That said I know a lot of people who keep their AC at 68-70 so we aren’t doing too bad I don’t think. In the winter we keep our heat at 68. I like it cool.
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June 9th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
During hot days, our indoor temperature rarely gets below 80. We have window ACs, but usually run them only for sleeping and during the day when the temp gets past 90. Otherwise, it’s all fans - - exhaust, ceiling, floor fans, and those personal fans that attach to the desk (I have a home office). It’s a little uncomfortable during the first hot days (especially when humidity in the NE is high), but I have found that my body adjusts. No argument that cooler is more comfortable, but given the problems with energy demand and cost and of course environmental effects, this doesn’t seem like an unreasonable course of action.
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June 9th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
A bit south if Baltimore (in Laurel), we’re still holding off with turning on the AC. It’s been in the high 90’s for the past few days, but since we’re mostly at work or at play (during the weekend), we don’t mind it that much. We have ceiling fans that help us sleep at night (the cool-ish/warm-ish air moving over our bodies, the soothing humming, you get the picture). We also do cross-ventilation, especially downstairs: open windows and patio door on opposite sides of the house. When we’ll give in to the heat and turn on the AC , we’ll probably set the thermostat to 78. Also, to keep the heat down in the house, we try to cook on the grill out on the patio; we limit the use of the oven (maybe once a week, at most) and cook light, cold meals mostly.
In the winter, we set the thermostat to 68 when we’re in, and 64 at night and when we’re at work. I think one of the greatest things ever invented is the programmable thermostat.
WE do this because we don’t mind the heat/cold too much, and I really care about the environment, so using energy for AC/heat seems like such a luxury. I think it should be seen as one.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
En español: ¡Los termostatos programables han sido una bendición! !Y el nuevo sistema de aire acondicionado EnergyStar ni se diga!
Compramos los nuevos termostatos y sistema hace un par de semanas y sentimos la diferencia enseguida–Hemos podido mantener la temperatura estable a 77 grados Farenheit gran parte del día a pesar de la temperatura exterior de 99 grados y es increible lo bien que se siente en la casa. No tenía idea de la mucha energía (y dinero) que estábamos desperdiciando con el sistema anterior que tenía casi 15 años. ¡Recomiendo que hagan el cambio!
English version: Our new programmable thermostants have been a blessing and the new EnergyStar cooling system goes without saying. It’s only been a couple of weeks since we’ve had the new system and we’ve noticed the difference immediately. We maintain the house mostly at 77 degrees Farenheit even when the outdoor temperature has reached 99. It’s increadible how comfortable the house feels. I had no idea how much energy (and money) we were wasting with the previous system that was almost 15 years old. I recommend that you make the change!
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
We do not heat or cool our home. We live in Hawaii and the windows are generally open all summer. During the winter we may close the windows at night as the air temp can get down to the low 60s. Being from New England (43 years there) I know that the low 60s doesn’t sound like a cold spell but New Englanders do try to keep their thermostats set to at least 68 in the winter which is about 4 degrees warmer than a chilly overnight in Kailua Kona in the winter.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
The reason I run my AC? I live in NW Florida aka the swamp. Enough said. I do however try to keep thermostat at 75 or above.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
We work to have the house comfortable but not cold, and keep the thermostat set at 80 degrees. This keeps the house cool and combats the humidity in our area when the heat gets into the 90’s.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:49 pm
We use a programable thermostat and make similar adjustments that others have noted re: eating old meals, etc. during time of very high heat in order to reduce A/C use/energy demands. We’ve even slept in family room/basement level in lieu of trying to cool down the top/3rd floor master bedroom in our townhouse. (Those are exceedingly difficult to heat/cool evenly with sometimes more than 10-15 degree differences between the 3 floors.)
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I keep my home at 72 Degrees year round. It is the temp at which I sleep well and function best. I live in a very wet area also and unless I use the AC, mold growth has a tendency to appear. That is why my house stays this cool.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
I keep my house warm in the summer (78 day/74 overnight) and cold in the winter (63 day/heat off overnight), simply because energy is too expensive.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
My house is kept at 80 deg.F when I am away, and lowered to 78 if it feels uncomfortable once I am home. At night, the thermostat is set at 85 because I use a ceiling fan if it is too hot.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Here in Lake Geneva, Wis. it gets hot and humid and I spend a great deal of time at home and I just can’t handle the heat. I cut corners in other areas, like not driving when possible. We don’t have any trees to shade our townhouse so the house just bakes in the sun all day–I would prefer to have the windows open but I am so miserable when it gets hot out, I just have to have the air on.
Today the temperature is not high but it’s humid enough that if you balled up a piece of paper it wouldn’t even crackle! So we have the air set on 75 and it’s comfortable. I lived through that terrible heat wave in 1995 when it was in the 100s for a week and we did not have air and I swore I would never go through that again.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
We use a programmable thermostat year round. Ironically when I lived in Phoenix was the first time I di, and that was only because the cost of electricity was half the price at night as it was in daytime. So I began using a programmable to save money.
pretty soon, I realized that even with dual rates, I could save money. Summer settings - AC in day is 81. No one is home, but I learned if you set it any higher, then the cooling process defeats the savings. Also settings higher than 81 seem to make the Refrigerator run more, and that wasets energy as well. At 5PM as I head out from work, the AC kicks to take temperature down to 78, and at 7PM it goes to 74. then at bedtime, after the sun is long down it drops to 72. At 6AM it kicks back to 81. It takes almost all day to heat the interior back to 81 if no one is home, so rarely is the house hotter than 81 even if Im not at work.
Winter, we reverse the cycle, with 65 being the day setting, 68 the evening settings and 62 (blankets work fine) being the sleep setting.
I also have the bathroom exhaust fans on inexpensive rotary timers - these run the after shower exhaust for thirty to sixty minutes depending on temp and humidity - so that while I am getting dressed after the shower, that humidity is removed from the house, and I never forget to shut off the fan.
Same with the ceiling fans - we have wall timers on those. They turn on around 1PM to start circulating the cooler air, and then they turn off around 6PM, to save energy. These are equipped with bypasses so that if we need to turn one on in the room we are in, we can.
Basically, What I am saying is you can save a lot of money while saving energy, and the investment in controls is paid off very quickly!
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I generally keep the AC off as long as possible for several reasons. One, having grown up with no AC, I honestly don’t mind the heat and humidity too much. Secondly, by taking advantage of the coolness of night, the house doesn’t usually get melting hot during the day, and I’m not ususally there anyway. Thirdly, I like not experiencing the sticker shock when the summer electric bill comes in. Finally, it just feels like I’m doing my part when one considers how most of the world copes with high temperatures - even in developed countries.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Don’t have an A/C
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
I try to keep it at 78 unless it is really humid then I will lower it for a bit and then raise the setting. Then again, my husband would like to keep it at 74 so it is an up and down battle since he is at home during the daytime. Also because it was such a drastic change with no room for adjusting, the heat has really inspired me to notch it up a bit.
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June 9th, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Since this is a free country, I make the choice based on comfort for my family versus the price I can afford to pay. A programmable thermostat is very helpful. I do not want any government burocrats telling me what to do. The constitution correctly limits the powers of the government.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
I live in Texas where we run our AC for 9 months out of the year. We keep our home at 82 during the day and 78 at night. I have little kids at home and they dont know any better…
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
In DC, I’m attempting an A/C free summer. We keep our house closed up during the days, open it up in the evenings (if the temp drops below the indoor temp - which it didn’t last night!), keep the lights off during the day, and run our ceiling fans when we’re home.
It’s working well so far, the inside temperature has not hit 80 degrees yet and it’s been in the 90s outside for the last few days.
We’re enjoying the challenge, feeling less wasteful, and happy about our <$25/month power bill!
Also…. if it gets too hot in the upstairs bedrooms, we’re not above getting a futon for the basement… it’s an icebox down there!
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
We don’t own an air conditioner. We are lucky though, in that the city we live in rarely gets into the 90s.
When I lived in the midwest, I had an small air conditioner that was big enough to cool my bedroom; I only used it on on evenings where it was both hot and humid, because I found it necessary to get a proper night’s sleep, and used a mat to block the gap on the bottom of the bedroom door.
The reason for my generally low use is to minimize my environmental footprint.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
We have a programmable thermostat that stays at 78 during the day when we are not there and only changes at 10:00 pm to 74 for sleeping. The reason of course is to conserve energy and save on the cost of the energy bill each month.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
We don’t use air conditioning.
Instead, we work with nature to regulate our household temperature. We use use outdoor solar shades, close window blinds during the day to keep the heat out, and open our windows at night to bring cool air inside.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I use fans and in a well insulated, protected by shade trees I stay 10 degrees cooler than outside.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
I live in Arkansas and the temps are already near 100F. So, I have been keeping the A/C temp at 74 during the day and 72 at night. A little warmer than what we used to keep it at due to the rising gas and energy prices. Trying to keep cost down.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Our thermostadt usually sits on 80 when we’re home and 85+ when we’re not. As a general rule we don’t start up the AC until July. This year was an acception.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
My thermostat is at a constant 78 in the OK summer. Sometimes it gets bumped down to 76 for a couple hours at active time periods or serious house cleaning. I used to adjust the temp up and down with a programmable thermostat, but I’m not convinced it saved me anything. I have read some conflicting studies as to the real savings. I am currently looking for good scientific information on the best settings for different climates as well as house types
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
We installed a window swamp cooler which costs MUCH LESS (65%) than running the AC. It is so cool and comfortable. We have ceiling fans in every room. We have two big trees covering the house with shade in the summer. We use shades on the west side windows. We do much more to conserve and have been doing so since I was a little girl. I had the most fortunate opportunity to talk to some men from Holland doing work in the USA and they told me of wonderful things I could be doing to improve my imprint on this earth that I have incorporated the ideas into my everyday life. I am American Indian and protection of this environment for multiple use sustained yield if most important to us. Multiple Use Sustained Yield - we have to live and can do so in moderation.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:17 pm
I am using a programable thermostat to reduce my energy usuage, also installed solar screens on the outside of my windows and regularly use ceiling fans to move the air in my house. all of these things have helped.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
The last of May I finally turned on my A/C. I set the thermostat to 78/79 degrees when I leave at 7:15 am. When I come home at 5 pm I set it to 75 degrees. It is very hot here in Louisiana, averaging 92 - 95 degrees daily. This is working for me now. I am at work all day and my house is bearable when I get home. I am trying very hard to cut back on energy. I am in the process of getting storm windows. This should help also.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
II live in Kansas and when it gets in the 90’s the AC come on and stays I do have a Programmable thermostat which helps regulate when to have it cool and when to have it warmer I love my programmable thermostat it has helped the last two years with lowering my electricity. We keep the temp around 72-75 during the summer and 68 – 70 in the winter. We do not have any down time there is always some one at home. We do keep it cooler at night than during the day. Keeping it cooler at night helps keep the house cooler longer during the day before it starts to heat up. The rooms we do not use often we block off the vents and we do not cool those rooms. It does help to cook out doors in the summer and not in the house you can put a full meal in tinfoil and put it in the coals out doors and cook so you do not have the taste of the barbecue every time you cook.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
We live just outside of Philadelphia and we finally turned on the AC on Saturday night. When we’re out of the house or downstairs, where it’s naturally cooler, we keep the temp at 78. When we go to sleep upstairs, where it’s a bit warmer, we set the temp to 75. As soon as this heat wave passes, I will try to turn it off again and switch to open windows and fans for as long as I can stand it. I prefer the natural feel of open windows, but sometimes I need the AC…I just try to be sensible about setting the temp.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Here in NE Kansas it is hot and humid so the air conditioner has been on…. I have it programed to be 78 during the day and 75 on weekends and nights. If it is still too warm then it gets turned down to 72 only when we are there.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
My wife has multiple sclerosis, which is quickly and drastically affected by high temperatures. If she’s stuck in the heat for any considerable period of time, she can’t walk and is in constant pain. We have added energy-saving doors and windows to our home in the last two years, but here in southeast Virginia, when the temperature gets into the 90s or above, the AC comes on.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I had my thermostat set on 82 but had to lower it to 77 because my pet Huskie was getting too hot. She lays on the kitchen floor so that the air conditioning vent blows cold air on her but she was panting due to the heat so I had to make the house cooler for her.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I run the thermostat at home about 4 degrees below ambient. Right now its at 74.
This just knocks the humidity out of the air, and keeps the power bill down. It also means that when we walk outside the temperature isn’t so big a shock.
At some point I will be making my own thermostat that takes care of this automatically. I have a weather station that records inside and outside humidity & temp - this will allow control of ventilation and AC.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I run ceiling fans thruough out my house. The circulating air cools just fine.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
in my opinion it is not as much the individual homeowner, as it is the office buildings, grocery stores, and every other commercial establishment. It is hard for our bodies to adapt to the heat when it is so cold inside commercial buildings. If every commercial building turned the thermostat down by a few degrees, think of all the energy that would be saved. Their cooling costs go down and the environment benefits – it is a win win situation for everyone. I have to wear a sweater in the office all summer and bring a light jacket to the grocery store, mall, restaurant, and especially the movie theater.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:26 pm
If you have ever had “Hot Flashes” you would know why.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
We keep the house at 78 when the outside temp is greater than 80. We keep it at 67 when the outside temp is lower than 67. In between, the house temp varies with conditions. We think this is energy efficient but I am not sure. We run ceiling fans a lot. How to know what is better? 3 or 4 ceiling fans running all night and part of the day, or AC or heating w natural gas? We have replaced insulation, siding, and nearly all the windows with high efficiency products in recent years but our bills are still higher than I would expect.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
As mentioned in previous responses, we too keep our thermostat at 78 degrees, although with our heat wave here on the East Coast (we’re in Connecticut), I admit we moved the temperature down to 76 degrees this past weekend.
We use the AC so that we can sleep better at night and have more energy during the day (weekends). Also, we do so much work/play outside, when it’s this hot out it’s a great way to cool down quickly.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:31 pm
There should only be one answer to that question! Comfort!
Everyone has their own comfort level and the thermostat is set to adhere.
If you use a thermostat that cuts the heat/air at certain times, the unit will have to work extra hard to get the climate back to normal, so I don’t know how much you would be saving!
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Keeping the house cool at night makes for a better nights sleep so that I may avoid cranky unproductive workdays.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
We keep ours at 74 degrees constant and use ceiling fans to move the air around. We also keep the blinds closed on the sunny side of the house which helps a lot. I’ve tried moving the thermostat to 76 but unless you are just sitting still, 76 is not comfortable.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Chicago area….I set mine about 70-72 when it is on. I do not leave it on when I am not at home (I live alone). I pick this temperature because I do not sleep well if it is warm. On the other side I put the temperature quite low during the winters, because I do not sleep well if it is warm.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I live in Colorado Springs. The weather occasionally gets too hot or too cold. I keep my thermostat max at 68 degrees during the day and 60 at night. I do not have air conditioning. Most new houses here have air conditioning standard, but it’s really not necessary if you have window fans. We are lucky in that it cools off significantly in the evening. And if it gets too hot, we head to the mountains. If it gets too cold, we put on sweaters and snuggle with our dogs. I think most Coloradoians can tolerate the weather, it’s the elderly and small children that are most affected.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
I am fortunate that my house sits up on top of a hill and I only need to run the A/C a few days during the summer. Open all windows and cross ventilate my house. Love every minute of it. Since we bought this house last year, we installed a programable thermostat, and signed for budget billing with Alliant Energy. The average monthly bill has dropped from $196 a month to $ 154 a month, including electricity and heating with natural gas. It is a 12 year old house, and we did a few “green” improvements (bought Energy Star fridge, changed to fluorescent light bulbs, sealed any cracks, insulated windows to the North side, changed filters frequently and changed programable thermostat). If it wouldn’t have happened to me, I might had had a hard time believing it !
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
Because I want to. All these _umb_ss blogs remind me of the senior Bush’s “thousand points of light” — a diversionary excuse for failure to fund rationale social welfare programs. Now we are looking for a thousand diversionary excuses for lack of a rationale energy policy and continued corporate socialism benefiting the oil, gas and energy industries. I was born in 1940. I lived my first 6 years in a house without hot water and went to a school withiout indoor plumbing or heating. Thereafter I lived in a house with hot water but without central heating. I had no idea what air conditioning was. At the age of 40, I moved into a house that I heated with wood harvested from my own lot, where I lived until 2004. In 2004, at the age of 64, I bought a condo near work so that I could get out of my car, which was aggravating my back problems and arthritis, and ride my bicycle to work. The condo came with central heating and air conditioning. Am I using them to the max — you bet your sweet bippy! When I see the shareholders of Exelon, Exxon-Mobil, National Grid, and the like start having to make some sacrifices, I may consider adjusting the thermostat. Take your thousand points of light and shine them on our corrupt energy policies.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
I keep my home cooled and heated as is comfortable. Electric and natural gas prices have not changed at my home for some time, so no need concerve there. It is gasoline costs I mind. But, to be honest, I am changing nothing there either. Just griping more…
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
We live in SE Tennessee. We can’t open windows, my son is allergic to everything outside, but to try to conserve, I keep the thermostat at 72 or 73 during the day. On really hot days, above 94, I bring it down to 70 for the evening and while I’m cooking, but at bedtime, I bump it back up.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
We have mild springs (and falls) in SE Washington State so the AC is not on for almost 6 to 8 weeks of mid spring. We do have ceiling fans, and a whole house exhaust fan that is great to use when temperatures are below 82 degrees. We also have a programmable thermostat and a high efficiency heat pump. I would like to keep the thermostat at 79 degrees during the hours we occupy the house but my wife insists that she can only survive at 77 degrees. However, it seems like the heat pump can never achieve that temperature throughout the house, especially during the summer when temperatures can be as high as 110. Then we have some rooms that are freezing (<72) and others that are almost 77, but not quite. I occassionally do discrete changes to the thermostat until she decides she’s too hot again.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
We will be installing ceiling fans in bedrooms to help. Our poorly designed heating and cooling system on our 6 year ol new home does not cool the house evenly. WE do not ahve two zones and we have an open floor plan. Bad choice that we are paying for in heating and cooling. The master bedroom is 5 plus degrees off from the rest of the house. At this point in our life, sleep is more critical than the extra cost for cooling. Though in winter we do not increase the heat, we just deal with the cold. Our thermostat is set at 75 in summer and 65 in winter. I am still hot at night with the 75 degree setting and wake frequently. Hoping the ceiling fan helps.
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June 9th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Daytime temp is set for 74, and the night (after 10:30) is set for 77. Tried 78, but we would wake up half way through the night, unable to fall back asleep. If the outside temp gets up over 90 then we adjust these temps higher.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
We set our thermostat at 80′ here in Florida. With the humidity as high as it gets in Florida, removing some of that from the air is as important as cooling the temperature. Probably it is more important. When we lived in Minnesota, we did not have a/c and did just fine without.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
It’s different on whether it’s humid or just hot. Fans help out quite a bit with heat but not much with the humidity.
I find that if I let my house heat up, it can take hours running all the window a/c full blast until it cools down and dries out the air. However, if I leave the living room window a/c on with all the blinds down, it isn’t so bad when I get home. The I can turn on the bedroom a/c to cool them off while we are in the living room and kitchen.
Also, although me and my two teenagers work and go to school our cat and dog are home so it can’t get too hot for them.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Our home has an open floor plan and a full basement. Since building in 2000, we have installed ceiling fans in the main living areas (living room & dining room) and a whole house fan in the ceiling at the top of the stairwell leading to the basement. This allows for the cooler air in the basement to be circulated up the stairs and into the living area. We also use cross breezes by opening all windows in the bedrooms. We have also added a ceiling fan to the master suite.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
I’m still old school…no AC. We use ceiling fans and jump in the pool when it gets to hot. Our basement stays nice and cool so that’s an option too. Michigan weather is so up and down, and if it’s to cool in the house we won’t want to go swimming.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Adjusting the thermostat to not control the temperature when nobody is around does save energy. Here’s the reason…
Heat energy travels from higher temperature materials, to lower temperature areas. The greater the temperature difference, the greater the amount of energy that moves across. Insulation slows the rate of travel of this heat. This hopefully make sense to you.
Here’s an analogy…
There are two tanks - one tank is “outside” and the other “inside”
Water level = temperature, Water volume = energy
Connect them with a pipe (The walls) allowing water (energy) to flow from the higher to lower tank. The outside level is 90 inches (=degrees) high, with inside 70 inches.
If you allow them to come to the same level - no water flows.
Then when you are wanting to occupy the inside, you pump water outside to get to 70 inches again (Via your “AC pump”) Water will begin to flow back inside as soon as there is a level difference.
Hopefully you will now see why letting the temperature rise to outside will reduce your cost - the rate of heating will slow down and may stop as inside temps rise to match outside.
Your cooling cost is directly related to the amount of heat energy that comes into the house. If you slow/stop that for a portion of the day - you don’t have to pay to remove the it.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Summer setpoint is 72F if it is warm enough or humid enough to run the AC. Sometimes the setpoint is to make the system run to remove humidity. If we set it higher the house is too humid. I wish the system had enough capacity to keep the house at 68F without running all the time.
Winter setpoint is 64F when we are home, down to 58 to 60F at night or when we are out. Setpoint changes to 68F when we have visitors that start to ice over.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I am in Mississippi so it is hot and humid here. I keep it on 75 degrees. There are lots of shade so it doesn’t have to run a lot as long as it is less than 95 degrees. Then, I will even put on 78 when I am leaving the house. (Not sure if it is good or not when it has to cool it all down, but sometimes I have been known to turn off when I leave for work.)
The good side of this heat is I live in the country & can do a clothes line. However, my crazy dogs will pull off clothes if I’m not careful :).
I get cold in the usual 70 that most folks keep here.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
We’re on our third day of 100+ degree days, so this is a timely one!
We use fans and ceiling fans.
We also have small, energy efficient window units in two of our most used rooms. We use those to cool and turn up the thermostat for the rest of the house.
Cool baths are also nice. It’s always cooler when you get out of the tub!
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I only use a window air conditioner during the night or ceiling fan. On cool nights I leave window open. Otherwise use attic fan and have windows open during the day. If raining, I use fans to cool the house. I do not have central airconditioning. In winter I keep the temperature set at 65 at night and 68 during the day if I am home. I keep the bedroom cool at night in summer so I sleep better. Main reason I do not use much ari conditioning is to save electricity.
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June 9th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I pulled the curtains more closed than usual to help keep the indoors cooler, but I live in the south and it gets hot here. It has already been in the mid 90’s (today is 94). We have a programmable thermostat that turns the air down during the times we aren’t home and helps to save money. When we are home we usually keep it around 78. If we are going to have a lot of people over we lower it to account for body heat warming the space. We keep it just cool enough to be comfortable because we don’t want high bills and don’t want to put a huge strain on the power company and lose power from everyone running it high, which has happened in the past and the neighborhood “went out” recently as well for about 30 minutes. The low tonight is suppose to be 70, if we are still awake we may turn the air off and open the windows, but I’m not comfortable leaving the windows open all night for safety reasons.
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June 9th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I turn on the AC, and move the settings up or down when my wife asks me to. She has been paying the gas and electric bills for about 4 years now. This is after I told her I was going to have it disconnected and taken out of my name, since every time I came home from work all the lights in the house were on, the heat or AC was on with windows and doors open, and there were 3-4 TV sets on, most of the time with no one home! It is truely amazing how conservative one can be when one pays the bill! It also helps to surcharge kids with a “fine or tax” for wasting energy. BUT, I do NOT want the government fining or taxing me (any more than they already do!) to forcibly alter my energy consumption patters, economics works just fine thank you!! Programable thermostats are great, and do save energy. Humidity causes discomfort in the summer. The key is to have your AC sized properly for your home and weather zone to run often to keep humidity in check. I replaced my central AC last summer and dropped the unit size a ton (12,000 Btu/Hr) in size. Works much better and saves energy, especially with higher set indoor temperatures 77-78F. On the 3-5 hottest days of the year it gets a little hotter in my house during the day, but humidity is sill controlled, so who cares.
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June 9th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
I am in Florida. We keep our thermostat at 76 during the summer; at 78 during summer nights; and at 70 during the winter. To help cool our home we have ceiling fans in all the rooms are kept on to circulate the air and when it is really humid a humidifier to help.
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June 9th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Hi,
Living in Central Texas, AC is a fact of life. We keep our AC turned up pretty high (85-90) while at work (62-65 during our short, warm winters) and we’re still comfortable when we get home because we use the rather elaborate programmable thermostat to our advantage. One can also set “vacation” schedules and the schedule for each weekend day - or any other day, for that matter, can be set independently of other days and hours).
When we built a custom house a couple yrs ago, we researched energy efficiency and other building techniques and tips - (check out http://www.Buildingsciencecorporation.com - the best “building” Web site I’ve ever encountered - or the DOE “Building America” Web site for invaluable information and links) - because this house has to last through retirement. We added radiant brrriers, we got windows for southern exposures (low E2 glass with a 33 winter heat loss and 34 - a very low solar heat gain coefficient while still having plenty of light - a necessity since we have over 40 windows in a 3000 sq ft house).
Without a doubt, the most expensive upgrade was the HVAC, but so far, it has been a great system. We got a 16 SEER - (under ideal conditions) - variable speed, zoned system (computerized dampers and remote sensors control the temperature of each room or area with the aid of a sophisticated programmable thermostat with remote sensors and satellite “override” thermostats. With this thermostat, one can program each day differently, including separate settings for Saturdays and Sundays; one can program the system for vacations, too. If one works at home, one could set the office temp and/or humidity to a different setting from the rest of the house. We added a bacteriostatic prefilter and a HEPA filter to control dust and microorganisms. Both have helped our allergies. We also used individual mini-room-return air ducts on the bedrooms so one can close any bedroom’s door and continue to maintain the temperature. One can also add a fresh air vent and set it to take in more fresh air (to reduce indoor pollution) We waited to do this to see if we needed it; turns out we’re fine without it, but retrofits are more expensive. A humidifier or dehumidifier (depending on climate) can be added, too (we didn’t, but should have, and probably will do soon).
Now, for those of you who want the information: 2.5 yrs ago, this system cost us $16,000 + (3X the cost of a single 14-SEER unit). The point for us was to prepare for higher energy costs in our retirement (or sooner, as it turns out) and to have more control over our HVAC since we have almost opposite brain temp. set points. Oh yes, I would suggest that you add surge protectors all around the thing (not expensive). We have a whole house surge protector, but it was useless when the system took an almost-direct hit that took out half the circuit boards (luckily still under warranty at the time).
I hope this has geen helpful info about how much more one can get out of an AC even if one has to sacrifice something to get such a system.
Jerry W
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June 9th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
My suggestion is to not have Spanish in this email. You should have either all English or all Spanish. English is the language of the US., not spanish… thanks…
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June 9th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
My family lives in the hottest spot of the nation, in the middle of the Mohave Desert. The temperature outside has reached above 125 degrees on my front porch, in the shade. The evaporative cooler uses less electricity, but more water. Evaporative coolers (swampers) are how we cool our home 10± months a year. The Air Conditioners are only used when the humidity rises too high, parts of July, August and parts of September. The energy difference is tremendous, thus it’s best to cool with the swampers when possible. Due to the rise in electric rates, we will be increasing our temperature by 2 degrees on our air conditioner this year.
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June 9th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I was born and raised in central Maine. When I lived there we never had to turn on air conditioning during the summer. It was always the perfect temperature. In the winter we had a wood stove, so we rarely had to turn on the electrical heating system. I moved to Atlanta about a year and a half ago. During the summer, the air conditioner is on most of the time. During the winter, the heat is on most of the time. I wanna move back to Maine!!!!
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June 9th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
I usually keep my apartment thermostat turned off all year because the enire building is heated 24/7. In the summer, I use a fan with my shades pulled down because an air conditioner is very costly, and known to guzzle energy. However, in the winter, I use either a sweater or a blanket to conserve as much as possible.
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June 9th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Be practical….. windows facing westerly have them tinted. If you are buyilding avoid windows on the west side of the house. Waterheater use a time-switch or a simple on-off switch. A/C is great but remember turn it off and look at the meter then turn it on and get a shock. Keep the temp at a mean 75 degrees.A bedroom only needs a quyick blast on high cool. Make sure you have ceiling fans, Turn the A/C off after the blast, 15-20 minutes, close the door and unless it really gets warm only then turn the A/C on Low cool not high cool. I am not sold on solar energy as an alternative source owing to the cost of installation. If you have central A/C make sure your windows are air tight. When designing a new home position your home where you can max the natural breezes, create shade around your home.
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June 9th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I keep my house between 80-82 F. That temperature is tolerable and recommended by my utility company as an optimal temperature for power savings.
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June 9th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
We are in Southern California and rarely used the heater or A/C, except on extremely hot or cold days. However, we now have someone home 24×7, who has MS. We upgraded both the furnace and the A/C and installed a programmable thermostat last winter. The A/C is set at 78 and the furnace is generally set at 70-72 during the day and 68-69 during the evening.
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June 9th, 2008 at 6:16 pm
I keep my home pretty warm. I don’t turn the air on in the day time because I am working in the day time and no one is home then. When I get back from work, I open windows, but by then, it starts to get cool anyway. I only turn the ac on when it is extremely hot and I am home which is rare. We usually go out to the mall and use their ac to cool us off!
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June 9th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
I live in upstate NY and it’s not even summer yet. It’s been almost 100 degrees. When it is around 80 or so we just keep the windows and fans on at night to get teh cool in and then when morning comes we shut everything real tight and close most of the shades to keep the cool indoors. Right now we have to have the AC or it would be unbarable. Around 74.
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June 9th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
I close off all rooms in my house and only cool the room(s) I am working or resting in.
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June 9th, 2008 at 7:49 pm
We rent a house and we have an air conditioner but we have never used it. I didn’t grow up with air conditioning and never have cared for it very much. I don’t like the shock of going from hot to cold and I love the smells of spring and summer. I also don’t want to pay huge energy bills in the summer, all I need is a couple of fans and I am good to go. Saving energy is not the reason why I dislike air conditioners, it is simply a positive byproduct. Hot and cold weather doesn’t affect me as much as most people.
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June 9th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
78 when I’m here, 82 when I’m not. If it gets too hot…it becomes obvious that there are cats in the house. ;-}
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June 10th, 2008 at 7:40 am
I try to keep my A.C. at 78 as it seems to take less of a toll on my heat pump. I do however use ceiling fans to keep the air moving and a few box fans to move the cooler air around the floor.
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June 10th, 2008 at 7:41 am
82 if it is over 90 outside. Otherwise the house cools nicely at night and stays cool. If it is hot at night I sleep downstairs. Every family member (except the bunny) has a fan they can move from room to room if needed. 55 in winter - 3 sweaters and shoes are a must. If I am chilly, I walk a few laps around the downstairs.
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June 10th, 2008 at 7:52 am
I have an old house with hot water baseboard heat and no housewide AC. Most of the windows are sliders so AC units are not convenient. I have one small unit in my son’s bedroom window (traditional window) and I just bought a floor model that will fit the slider window in my bedroom. I basically use them only for sleeping or an occasional cool off during the day but close the doors.
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June 10th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Efficient Air Conditioners and programmable thermostats are a good ideas to save energy. But not everyone needs an Air Conditioner and the accompanying increase in your electric bill to be comfortable. If you live in parts of the country where those really hot muggy days are not a constant but are occasional consider other strategies for beating the heat or reducing the use of your AC. Take advantage of natural conditions that cool down at night by opening all windows; running a fan (that will use a lot less energy) to blow out hot air and draw in cool air. In the morning close up your house and close curtains especially those on sunny windows. When landscaping consider the benefits of trees that provide shade and cooler temperatures. The shade trees in my yard make a huge difference. Decidious trees in northern tier areas contribute to cooler temps in the summer but with their leaves off in winter let the sunlight stream through.
When the kids were little we’d open up the house; put the fans on; pack their pajamas and go to the beach in the evening. No one get’s sunburned. The beach isn’t as busy. By the the time we got back to the house the kids were cool from swimming; were half asleep in the jammies; the house had started to cool down and we all slept quite well.
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June 10th, 2008 at 11:02 am
In the Phoenix, AZ area it is difficult to survive the summer (June-September) without some type of cooling. Yesterday it was 102 degrees F. We have a programmable thermostat and use time of day electricity rates (9pm to 9am is cheaper) which have a peaking rate. Or house is kept at 83 degrees F. After 9 pm the thermostat resets to 80 degrees until 9am than back to 83. Our water heater has a programable timer to shut it off which helps shave the electricity peaking rate.
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June 10th, 2008 at 11:18 am
I do program my thermostats and they are never set below 78 degrees.
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June 10th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
My A/C is on 75 currently and we are sleeping in our basement bedroom in order to save electricity and cooling costs. This teaches my children about conservation and contributing to the environment rather than only taking away. In the winter we do the reverse keeping the heat lower and wearing warmer clothes/pajamas to help conserve. Hopefully it will mean less power usage and less brown out time for our area. I hope others will do the same!
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June 10th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
In the interest of conserving energy (and my money) I’ve in the past have only used AC when it was really hot in the house, 80 F degrees or more in NJ. I have an indoor outdoor temperature guage and use it to monitor when to open the windows or not. I also use my programable thermostat to turn the air on and off depending on when I will be home or not and use ceiling fans.
However, with the birth of my son who is an infant now, I’ve had to keep the house at a constant cool temperature (73F). He has eczema issues so heat can aggravate his dry skin.
Thus health and comfort reasons are the driving reason for my use of AC.
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June 10th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I’m sure our household is unusual for Texas. The thermostat is set at 82 degrees with ceiling fans turned on when we are in a room.
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June 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
If there was no A/c no one would live in the Deserts during the Summer. That’s a fact. Evaporative cooling works well here in the Palm Springs area until late July/August. Then the A/C on until Thanksgiving (or thereabouts). My home is all electric and with a new 14 SEER my bill average monthly is $228. Thats with the thermostat set @ 77. I am giving myself advise because I need to seal the door jams and windows which allow a higher setting and a lower bill.
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June 10th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
I keep my AC on during the day very low. I have a dog that feels the heat and she is a little older.
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June 10th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
Living in the Central Valley near Sacramento, summer days average 95°F in July & August, with nightly lows in the upper 50’s to lower 60’s.
I set my thermostats at 80°F/82°F (1st/2nd floor) and have installed fans in most rooms, and in all bedrooms. It’s warm, but you get used to it with fans on, especially when it’s 95-105°F outside.
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June 10th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
We keep our home as cool as our basement because we don’t do air conditioning. Circulating the basement air works well and makes you keep the basement clean.
Air conditioning allows people to live in places they normally wouldn’t.
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June 10th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
In northeast Oklahoma the humidity makes 90-degree days feel like 105 so by this time of the summer we set the programmable thermostat to 78. Ceiling fans keep the air moving.
When we have guests, we turn the thermostat down temporarily since most people are accustomed to restaurant and office settings of 70.
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June 11th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
We live in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) where our days are warm and we live in a 20 year old house that is well insulated and has a tile roof. We have programmable thermostats that I installed years ago. We also have ceiling fans in the three rooms that we use most. We replaced the original double pane windows several years ago. We use a pellet stove to heat in the winter, although we have upstairs forced air furnace and AC and same downstairs. The house is 3000 SQ. FT. We rarely use either AC unit because we open the windows at night and close up in the morning. The house retains the pleasant day temp and then we open when the evening cools again. We recognize that we reside in a great area and we simply take advantage of nature as much as possible.
BillC
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June 11th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
I have not yet fired up the A/C in my home. This time of year it is still possible to cool the house down to 70 or below in the early mornings by practicing “Texas cooling”…..that is opening all windows in the early AM (5 or so) and then closing the house up again before the heat of the day begins to build. My home has a basement and keeping the door between the upstairs and downstairs closed keeps the (finished) basement below 80 even on hot days. When I come home from work the upstairs portion is usually around 75-85 depending on the day. When I do turn the A/C on (within the next few weeks, certainly) I keep the thermostat set for 78-80 and it’s comfortable as it keeps our lovely Nebraska humidity at bay. I would really like to set it lower, but the extra expense on the electric bill is a good reason not to.
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June 12th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Growing up in the deep South without A/C I learned early to adapt to hot temperatures in the summer. Now, although my house is heated and cooled with geothermal-based HVAC, I want to teach my son that he doesn’t have to be 70 degrees year-round. We utilize ceiling fans, open windows, cool showers, and appropriate clothing daily. It’s the little things we do everyday that help teach him to become a wise steward of the resources.
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June 13th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
This is a great analogy! I realize the unit won’t be running all day (thus saving money). However, won’t it cost more to once again reduce the inside temp than it would have by just leaving the temp the same all day? Seems to me that each evening you have to cool not only the air in the house but also remove the heat and humidity that has accumulated all day in the walls and ceilings and furniture.
I would very much appreciate your opinion on this matter becuase your above thesis is, by far, the most exact of anything I’ve read so far.
Thanks in advance, JH
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June 15th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Have program thermostats. I live in Indiana just turn on my a/c last week. Set day at 74 deg at night 72. Have multiply speed fan it is on all the time. This is for electronic air filter
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June 16th, 2008 at 9:02 am
We have one window AC unit and run it only when it’s very hot. We have a German Sheppard dog so to keep him from overheating, we’ll have the air on during the day when one of us is home. We never have it on overnight and use ceiling fans and open windows instead. When the AC is on, I put an oscillating fan in front of it to help spread the cool air around. We have room-darkening shade, so to help keep the temp down on the really oppressive days, the shades are pulled down to keep the sun out. Every little bit helps both the environment and the pocketbook!
During the winter, we keep the house around 58 overnight and when we’re not home and 62-64 when we’re home. We all like it cool; and if it’s really chilly, we put on another layer. Sometimes these New England winters can get downright freezing so then I’ll nudge up the thermostat a degree or two!
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June 16th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Living in the Desert, many people think that we cannot grow grass or maintain trees. We have planted deciduous trees to shade the southern exposure and have planted grass for the reflective heat value. We keep the evaporative cooler on from April to July and then again from the end of September to November. Even though have upgraded the AC to a 14 seer our bill exceeds $200 a month during the AC use months. However the evaporative cooler months are around $65. The house is never cooler than 78 degrees with the AC and yes we have a programmable thermostat. In addition to the upgrade we replaced the windows with low e double pane and blew in an R-39 in the attic. All of the doors were replaced with energy wise doors. Let’s face it the desert is hot. Not much you can do in an old house (1944 which is old for Phoenix standards) without a basement.
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June 16th, 2008 at 11:46 am
We live in a dry climate that is hot in the summer (Colorado). We have not AC, but have wished we did for a few days each summer. We looked into a slim wall-mounted evaporative cooler, but did not find a dealer locally and didn’t know how to find a contractor that can install that equipment. They all seem to just want to install big AC systems. We are moving now and will have an attic, so first thing will be to install a whole-house fan. The house we are moving into has an old heat pump in the wall that is used for cooling rather than heating, and it seems to work great.
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June 16th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
I’m in NW Missouri and have spent most of my life without AC. I prefer it that way. I like to feel the breeze through the windows. The only time I will turn on the AC is if the dogs and cats are getting too hot, but the cats usually find the coolest place in the house and the dogs like to lay outside in the cool dirt next to the house - or they lay in their wading pool! What I can’t stand is going in stores and feeling the need to have a coat on because the temp is so low!
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June 16th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
We have a programmable thermostat so while we’re home we keep the house at about 75 degrees and at 82 when we’re away - I also resist putting on the air conditioning as long as possible but when the humidity gets too high, I succomb. We also use heat modestly (68 when home) in the winter - both choices are for energy saving reasons and the environment rather than for cost savings.
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June 18th, 2008 at 2:42 am
I use fans in the dining room and master bedroom. Close blinds and windows on north east side in morning, open as shade appears. Close doors and blinds on west side as sun comes round. Keep doors and windows closed on west side till sun drops a bit. Long days in Northern Alberta make it difficult to keep houses cool. Keeping doors & windows closed if it’s cooler inside than out is key. If you are away during the day, close your blinds and open two windows on opposite ends of your home. Once outside temp drops, open everything up, and keep it open all night if you can stand it. Repeat procedure in morning (closing windows on sunny side, and opening on shady side, until outside temperature exceeds inside, then close up again, leaving a screen open on shady sides if desired. AC is needed in northern areas because of the long days. Run at comfortable day time temperature, using overhead fans as well. When leaving office, turn off AC or leave thermostat at higher setting so it doesn’t kick in unless it gets really warm. Leave a fan on to circulate air, and open a window if security allows it.
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June 19th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Now that it is extremely hot 100+ in the valleys of Southern , California, I keep my thermostat at 80-82 degrees. I use a fan when I am home. If it falls below 80, I open windows and turn the thermostat off.
I think most stores keep the AC too cold. It is rediculous to get goose bumps when you go shopping. I get cold or hot very easily so I am very aware of temperasture changes. Store should be more aware of regulating the temperature according to the outside temp, not just have one temp for AC and another for heat.
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June 19th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I try to keep my home around 78 degrees farenheit becuase at this time I knwo that the electric company that I use does not run on clean energy and I rent so I do not have a solar panel unti at my place of residence and that cuases a huge environmental burden. Every so often the house gets too warm at 78 degrees F becuase of the two dogs, myslef, and my daughter in only 1050 sq ft of space, plus the 8 puppies right now, breathing and moving aroudn cuasing the 78 F to feel more like 80 or 85 and cuasing fatigue, so the AC will then go down to like 75, but that is usually the lowest except in teh winter when the AC is normally left off.
Best regards,
-Bonnie
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June 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
I keep my thermostat at 78 except when I am engaged in physical activities such as cleaning then I set it at about 75-76. In the winter I keep my themostat at 55-58 depending upon the time of day. I have an electronic programmable thermostat so it is very easy to make sure that I am not heating or cooling too much. I would maintain either cooler in the winter or warmer in the summer but I have pets.
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July 6th, 2008 at 3:05 am
I’m with you there. I must keep the thermostat at 75-76 in the summer, and that is comfortable enough, ( even with my “hot flashes” ;) )..
I live in Wisconsin, and the winters get quite cold, and we keep our thermostat on 70, and if it’s really cold, ( around, or below zero ) we turn it up to 72. Our house is approx. 100 years old, and in dire need of insulation. I also dress very warm in the winter, always in slippers, and a sweater or robe as well.
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July 8th, 2008 at 11:14 am
My family has never had AC - we just open the windows and turn on our box fans at night in the summer. My dad keeps the heat set in the mid-60s F in the winter - a bit chilly, but all we need to do is add another layer of clothing when cold, which is much cheaper. This summer, I have a basement apartment that is staying so wonderfully cool that I’ve needed my comforter most nights. (I’m in Central New York.)
It bugs me that so many large buildings (offices, public buildings, and the like) are unlivable without AC. We should use smarter designs so we’d be able to do without AC for the most part in NY. It also bugs me that AC is overused - I can’t be in a grocery store for more than 10 or 15 minutes in the summer without my toes turning to ice!
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August 12th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Wish I did not need air. My house gets so humid once it gets hot outside. My engineered wood floors buckled and rippled last summer (new house). I am on a slab that might be wicking ground water. Also new house are so tight air doesn’t move through them. I have to remove the floor and install laminate.
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