How do i save energy and money with my a/c?

Question

it is hot and i want to turn on my a/c.i don't know at what temp to leave it on.and should i turn it on and off daily

Answer 1

Set your AC to the temp you can tolerate at highest temp setting, and don't have it on when you are away. AC removes heat and the byproduct is cooling of the air so maintain what you can tolerate temp wise. Removing the heat uses most energy because the freon compressor works hardest, maintaining the temp is the best so don't turn it off and back on when it gets hot inside.

Answer 2

The first step is to use blinds on windows, insulate and use reflective barriers all round the living space.

Keep the heat inside the water heater, or use a tankless heater. and insulate hot water lines.

Where possible, have an a/c that builds up a bank of ice water during the night and uses that to cool during the day. The process of cooling that ice water can also provide all the domestic hot water you need.

You should keep the room as hot as you can tolerate it for as many hours as you can tolerate it. So, if you are not going to be in, raise the start temperature on the A/C.

Conserve electricity in the house by cutting back on all usages, remember that when using A/c. every extra kWh of power you use inside the house means an extra 2.5 kWh on your electric bill... it takes more energy to pump it out than it does to use it in the first place. So keep those lights efficient and turn them off.

If outside temperature is lower than inside temperature, ventilate instead of  using A/C.

Turning the unit off completely will save energy, but are there pets that would suffer?

Having the refrigerator condensing coil ( the one at the back of the fridge) outside of the house, in the shade, instead of inside, will save energy partly by making the fridge more economical, partly because the A/C does not have to pump that heat out of the house.