Air conditioning?
Question:My mom has a 3 story house and has central air throughout the house...she insists on keeping the temperature on 80 all the time. When it is 90 some degrees outside. It really makes the house extremely humid inside and to me unlivable. Does turning the air down to 70 really make a lot of difference in the bill? bc she seems to think it will make a huge difference.
Answers:
Setting the thermostat down to 70 for an extended period of time will make a significant difference in the bill. There is no doubt about that.
By setting the temp to 80 the a/c may not run very often or for very long. This will keep the temperature at 80 but will not remove enough moisture from the air as you have noticed.
Alternatively, if you set the thermostat to 70 or 75 temporarily, the a/c will run for a long period of time and remove a significant amount of moisture. Then the temp can be set back to 80. The house will warm up, but will be more comfortable due to lower humidity.
An other important point regarding humidity is to resist opening the windows when the temperature drops. If it's 75 and humid outside and 80 and dry inside it may be best to keep the windows closed. In this case the outside air may actually have a higher heat content than the inside air. Opening the windows would increase indoor humidity and will increase the demand for air conditioning later. (I know this from experience - I've got a Mom too!)
As usual, Mom really does know what she's talking about.
The difference can easily be huge ($100 +).
If the humidity isn't being removed, you may have a problem, perhaps a low freon level. ~
Once the cooling is restored, the humidity will go down and even at that temp it will feel a lot cooler (without extra power cost).
Yes it can and will.
What your mom needs to do is look at zoning or additional units per floor. Zoning is just controls that block air flow where you dont need it and put it where you do. By keeping the upper floors at a comfortable level, it will help keep the lower cooler.
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