Does it matter if you turn A/C off in house before leaving to save money?
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It will actually save you more money if you set it at about 70 to 75 while your gone during the day. The hotter it gets the longer the compressor has to run to bring the temp back down. It usually only runs for a few minutes when it's just maintaining the temp. The compressor uses more power when it has to run for longer periods of time because it gets hot and the cooling efficiency of the unit goes way down.
I guess it matters if you have a pet that will end up overheating after you leave? But, once a house heats up..it takes longer for it to cool down.
It depends on how long you are going to leave. If it is for a long time the house will probably get hot.
Should be fine as long as you don't have pets or other temperature sensitive things in the house. The best idea would be to keep it on but keep it "high" so just enough to keep the temperature reasonable but not enough to cost you a lot of money.
It's better to make the temp warmer than to turn off the a/c altogether. If you do, it has to work harder at cooling once you turn it on again.
Heat is transferred though materials like walls and windows, at a rate that is directly proportional to the square of the difference between the sides, so if the temp differential is 20 degrees, 70 inside and 90 outside, the heat lost will be four times what it would be if the differential is 10 degrees. So, if you let the inside temperature rise by turning off the AC or turning up the thermostat you will save lots of energy but may be uncomfortable when you come home to a hot house.
The best thing to do is get a programmable thermostat. You don't want the house getting too hot, you will defeat the purpose of saving energy, because it will take way too long to cool the house down when you return to it.
There are several models to choose from, and in many price ranges. My suggestion is to go to Home Depot or Lowe's and check them all out. I have one that has a full 7 day program cycle. I have noticed a tremendous savings on my electric bill.
Good luck,
Stevo.
I live in Las Vegas & it gets very HOT! To help save $$ is to turn it up a little. It is easier for the AC to maintain the same temp rathier than on & off. Hope this helps!!
You will save money by turning the thermostat to a higher temp than turning it off. You will have to cool the whole house from scratch if turned off. I go 5 degrees warmer when I will be gone for 8 hours. This will also help your wood furniture. Drastically changing temps cause expansion and contraction in the joints and the wood.
no, because it will work harder when you turn it back on to cool your house back down, I would suggest just turning it up some.
i always figured it was pretty environmentally irresponsible to leave your air on all day.
for the 100th time...yes...if its on your paying, if it isnt your not...whats to figure out? 30 year plus electrician, just simply close your shades and windows when you leave, it will be pretty cool when you return...
I live in Texas and do this. I don't have wood floors which would be an issue. Also when I come home I usually have to put it on because the hottest part of the day here is between 3 and 6. If it's 85 outside I set it to 82 or 81 and cool the house slowly. Living out here I've become accustomed to 80 degrees. I wouldn't think it wise to come home and put it at 76 on an 85 degree day. My bill on a 2 BR 2 bath has been averaging about $60.00 the last 3 months which I consider cheap. I also use ceiling fans.
to save money don't turn the a/c completly off, but turn the temp up in the house when you are not home. i.e. if you are at home set the temp on 72, but when you leave set the temp at 75.
Don't turn it off completely. Set the thermostat to 82 or 84 degrees, or a few degrees higher than you normally set it. This will have the AC come on less frequently, but you will be able to cool the house down easily when you get home.
If you will be out of town, set it even higher if the house will be unoccupied.
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