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Now that's summer's in full effect, it's time for the next installment in our Energy Savings series, courtesy of our friends at Green Home Guide. This week it's all air conditioners, all the time.
Everyone knows that once the first heat wave hits, energy bills skyrocket -- especially when you're a fan of air conditioning. Your air conditioning system accounts for the bulk of your home's overall energy use in the summer.
Luckily, the U.S. Green Building Council clued us in to several ways we can save energy -- and money -- by using our air conditioners conscientiously.
1. Give Your Thermostat the Time of Day
Programming your thermostat to pump less cool air during the moonlight hours -- even a few degrees less -- can make big a difference. Here are suggested settings for various times through a 24-hour period:
• 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. = 75 degrees
• 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. = 80 degrees
• 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. = 75 degrees
• 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. = 80 degrees
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2. Kick It Up a Notch
78 degrees Fahrenheit is a common indoor temperature for a typical household. If you want to save a significant amount of money, set your thermostat one degree higher. Now set it another degree higher. The only place you'll feel a big difference is in your wallet.
For every degree above 78, you'll save 5 to 8 percent on cooling costs. If you just want a comfortable home, and don't need an overly cool one, try raising it to 85 degrees; you'll save 35 to 55 percent.
3. Don't Cool the Home for No One
If you're going out for a few hours,
set the thermostat to 85 or 90 degrees. When you get home and reset it, the house will take only about 15 minutes to resume its normal, comfy-cool temperature. The system will consume less energy during this quick, 15-minute cool-down period than if you had left it running at 78 the whole time.
4. Change the Filter
A filter caked with dirt significantly impedes the function of your air conditioner, causing it to pump more air to cool your home.
Change the filter several times a year -- especially in the beginning of the cooling and heating seasons. Here's how to
change the filter in your HVAC system.
See? Being
energy smart is easier than it sounds.
** Got any energy-saving tips to share? Let us know in the comments below! **
This information is courtesy of the U.S. Green Building Council. For more tips on saving energy and greening your home, visit USGBC's Green Home Guide.
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Reader comments (Page 5 of 6)
....and make sure you vote for the right people and party with your sentiments, Charles!
What a helpful article. Set the AC to 80???????? I may as well sit outside. 75 is not even comfortable. 70 is.
ReplyAre you kidding set the thermostat on 80, I might as well open the windows and shut the AC off, I want to be comfortable its set at 70, I don't care what I pay, I want comfort
ReplyNice energy tips if you live in Alaska, but I live in the desert valley outside of Phoenix Arizona and summer temps here are 115 degrees give or take a few degrees. My A/C would never shut off if I tried to cool my home to 75 and then I'd be replacing the system. People who live in areas where there are extremes of weather often dont benefit from generalized tips like this. It's a waste of time and energy for us.
ReplyIf you want the a/c at 70 and you can afford to run it that way then go for it; but dont be hypocritical and try to tell everybody that your going green and you want to save the planet and the whales and the trees when all you want to do is stay cooler than most of us can afford to do.
ReplyHmm, does the White House have their temperature set at 80 degrees during the day and evening? Personally, I believe these temperature suggestions are ludicrous - why even bother having a/c or central a/c if you're going to have it set at 80 degrees! For some reason I recall (but don't remember where I read/learned) 72 degrees as being the "comfortable" zone. Plus, sleep time temperatures for a better night's rest is recommended to be cooler (all year long). Oh well, other than the change filter often and raising temp "somewhat" (not the high number they suggest) when I'm not home, I won't be following this advice/suggestions. JMHO
Replyyep, they posted it more than once...
Replyhhall: they posted what more than once?
You got to be kidding me. We live in Texas. I keep it at 74 during the day and 70 at night. Don't tell me how and where to spend my money
Replythe guy who said your A/C has to "work harder" when you lower the temp after it has been set higher during the day has it exactly wrong. Living in Miami and having parents in the A/C business didn't teach him anything except how to pass along a myth. The A/C unit is more efficient when it runs often, and keeps the humidity down. Lazy or unscrupulus A/C contractors often use a "rule of thumb" to determine how many tons your central A/C needs to be for your house, rather than measuring all the factors that should be considered, such as shade on the east and west walls and roof, size and number of windows, insulation factor, exact square footage, etc. They are motivated to sell you a larger unit than you need because it has a higher price tag. They may tell you falsely that this means the A/C doesn't have to "work as hard" as with a smaller unit. That is nonsense. An A/C unit is either running or not. Smaller units use less electricity when they run. Units that run for longer periods operate more efficently because the least efficient period is when they start running (the unit and the ducts are hot at this point). A unit that is just big enough to keep your house cool on the hottest day of the year is the least expensive to buy and operate, and will keep your house more comfortable than a unit that is unnecessarily larger.
ReplyApparently this writer is not living in the south or southwest. Try and spend summer in Texas and sleep with your A/C set at 80. I am in north TX and a large part of the summer nights is doesn't get any cooler than that outside overnight and the humidity is 50% and higher range so you have to set the A/C lower.
ReplySet it at 78 or 80? Are you people nuts? You may as well stay out in the heat! And kicking it higher at night? Obviously, none of you have ever experienced a hot flash. I say, cut back on expensive shoes, but keep the house comfortable. No one needs shoes like Carrie Bradshaw.
ReplyI am living in Florida...if you set the AC at 80 - 85, you might as well shut it off since you will suffocate within minutes! What a moronic thing it is to tell you to RAISE your temps at night instead of lower them, which is the healthy thing to do. I leave my thermostat at 78 all the time. When I go out I raise it. Not such a hard concept.
ReplyOur neighbor never runs her air, just shuts the windows all day - while she and her 4 kids are inside. I have actually wanted to throw up when in her house it's so stifling hot. She is also constantly running the kids to the doctor with respiratory problems. We like to conserve to not only save money but to help ease the strain on the grid, but it was 106 here last week for 4 days and setting that thermostat to 80 wasn't going to help.
ReplyIn any area with high pollen, at least run the unit's fan!
i wont have to worry about my thermostat, because i am going to move in with tipper gore, now that she got rid of her hubby. since they do not worry about saving energy, and that blow hard hubby of hers is out, tipper and i, can just enjoy eachother, in style and comfort.
ReplyFirst of all to cool down a home from 85 to 75 does not take 15 minutes. Your A/C will run steady for quite some time to accomplish that feat. Some people may not care what a health expert says about the optimum temp for a human but I think most people will listen to an experienced furnace and A/C man. Mine tells me that you will expend more energy in summer and winter going up and down and up and down with the temps than you you will save. When I was younger and just starting out with limited income, I tried it. I changed the temp while at work and t hen adjusted it when I came home. There was no difference in my electric bill. None. Nada.
ReplySecond, I do wish all you who will go thru this exercise good luck and I hope you bill comes down.
Third, when I was growing up, there was no air conditioning in the average person's home. Lat er on, as a teenager, we got air conditioning. I determined then that I needed to be comfortable as much as possible. So, I decided that I could cut my budget other places and keep my thermostat so that I am cool just like in a theater or supermarket. There are lots of places to cut budgets like drink less booze, don't buy every CD and DVD , etc ...
Fourth, everyone has their own priorities. If you are comfortable with 75 degrees which is hot to me especially on a humid day, then that is what you should do. For us who like 72 or 73 degrees, then it is up to us to find a way to pay the bill. I guess I am not a good environmentalist when it comes to my personal comfort. And neither are most of us when we simply drive our cars. To each is own.
I don't know where these "85 - degree-ers" live, but where I live (deep southeast), an air conditioner set on 85 may as well be turned off - we couldn't stand it. And when you come home from work and turn it down, the A/C runs constantly for the next 6 hours or so to catch up. I don't know which is worse - but I simply cannot stand 85-degree temps in my house. I used to live in a 125-year old house which was absolutely beautiful, but poorly insulated (it is extremely hard to retro-insulate a really old house - even the windows are that old, wavy glass which lets the heat and cold right through), and when I got my first $700 power bill (mostly for air conditioning), that house had to go.
ReplyIf the temp. outside is less than 80, I'll open all the windows and let the fresh air in. The windows stay open most of the night too, which means the house cools nicely and stays that way thru most of the next morning. No need for A/C, just a couple of ceiling fans to help circulate the air inside. If it's over 80 outside, the windows are closed and the A/C is set for 72-75. Either way, I'm comfortable and not sitting in ball soup.
ReplyYes, fans in conjunction with A/C for super cooling! Will save you big bucks, too. I bought 1 at Sam's Club and LOVED it! It's quiet, and extreemly functional- even has a remote. Can be used as pedistal, table-top, or wall mount! I went back and bought 3 more, no kidding. $39.99 ea. Unbelievable! (No, I'm not a fan salesman, that's why I'm not telling you the manufacturer, but it's a big name)
ReplyI can't sleep at night during the summer with the stat up on 80, that's too damn hot. I put my stat on 75 for all day, then down to 70 for during the night so I won't sweat to death trying to sleep, and my bills are not high at all. I have an excellent system and maintain it well. Anyone else out there think setting the stat on 80 at night in the middle of the summer a tad too hot or is it just me???
Reply