Help settle an A/C argument? Please.?

Question

My boyfriend and I disagree on which is more cost efficient. He says we should turn the A/C up to 80 when we leave for the day and turn it back down when we get home. I say we should just leave it at one ambient temperature as the A/C just has to work that much harder to cool the apt. at the end of the day. Who is right?

Answer 1

Studies have shown that turning the thermostat down when no one is ther and turning it back up when they are does indeed save energy. Todays units are efficency rated and work that way. What i would suggest as a part compromise is a programmable thermostat, that way it can be set to cool 1/2hr before you come home that way the home is cool, or in winter, warm when you walk in the door.

Sorry, but its what the experts suggest.

Answer 2

I would recommend buying a few large oscillating fans and only turning them on when you are in that area of your house.

You will find that the air will become cool and refreshing within virtually no time at all and that their will be a nice refreshing breeze.

With this in mind there is no need to leave them on in any areas of your house where no one is present and you will find noticable money savings and it will also aid the environment.

I have lots of info that I think you will find quite helpful and enlightening:

http://360.yahoo.com/blorm_multaeeneea_l...

http://ecowellness.multiply.com/

Let us all strive for a greener/brighter future by helping to create a solid foundation for future generations to build upon, so we can hand them a beautiful world, filled with never ending awe and wonders!!

Where peoples differences and uniqueness are accepted, where we all live as one, helping one another so that we can all play our own mysteriously beautiful melodies in the never ending, awe inspiring, song of life :-)

Answer 3

He's absolutely right, it's basic science.

Heat flows like water flowing downhill.  It goes from higher temperature places to lower ones.  The greater the temperature difference, the steeper the "hill" and the more heat that flows.

By shutting it off during the day your apartment warms up closer to the outside and less heat flows in.  So the AC has less work to do moving the excess heat back out when you get home.  If you leave it on the heat is flowing in faster and the AC works hard during the day to move it back out.

The best thing to do is to get a "programmable thermostat" which turns the AC off when you leave in the morning and back on before you get home so that it's comfortable for you.

Answer 4

well in short you both are..... if the apartment is average size, 800 - 1000 sq feet it doesnt matter which way you go with the temp..... personally what i recommend for my customers as a rule of thumb is no more than 5 degrees from what you normally keep it at, that way it can still operate efficiently enough to keep up with the heat building in your unit with out running too much when your not home, but still have an easy time achieving set point temp when you are, more than 5 degrees it will run for a relatively longer time trying to get to yor set temp you wont get much savings benefit...... however if you have a window unit instead of a central a/c system all of the above wont matter because window units cost more to operate anyways, leave it on or off you wont notice much..... but if you do have a central a/c system...... follow my above recommendation

good luck

Answer 5

Turn it off when you leave, then turn it on when you get home.

Answer 6

It depends on how long you are gone, how energy efficient your home is, and how hot the day gets. If it`s a normal work day, you probably will see some savings if you raise it about 5 degrees while you are gone. I would suggest an energy saver(programmable) thermostat. It will give you a greater diversification of settings, and you don`t have to remember to change it all the time.