What is the Best Temperature --?

Question

to keep your Air Conditioner at to save money?

Our electric bill here in Texas is $400 a month!

If I recall was it 78?

Thanks!!!

Answer 1

we keep our a/c at 75 and keep all the curtains and blinds shut to keep out the sun

Answer 2

It's 78.

Answer 3

Where Energy Is Used In The Home

The following electric energy use pattern is fairly common in many Tallahassee homes (all-electric homes heated and cooled with an electric heat pump).

Heating or cooling the house - 60%

Water heating - 15%

Refrigeration - 13%

Everything else (TV, lights, washer, dryer, cooking, etc.) - 12%

As you can see, the greatest opportunities for energy reduction are in heating and cooling the house.

Making A Plan To Save Energy

Make sure that all members of your household understand that saving energy is important.

Settings at your central thermostat are critical. Post a written reminder at the thermostat, for example:

Summer 78 degrees (80 when away)

Winter 68 degrees (65 at night)

Discuss household energy practices. Place written reminders in prominent places (like the refrigerator). Get everyone on board with the effort.

To see how you're doing, keep a written chart! Compare kilowatt-hour usage on bills from month to month, and compare the same month one year ago. Write it down! This really works.

Energy Tips for Apartment Dwellers

Helpful advice to apartment dwellers, especially students and others with their first-ever utility account!

Don't think of it as the "Light Bill." We may call it a light bill but in summer we ought to call it "the Air Conditioning Bill." Central air conditioning requires about 50 times as much power as a 75-watt light bulb.

Set your air conditioning thermostat carefully.

Summer: Recommended indoor temperature is 78 degrees in . Set it higher when you're away all day.

Winter: Recommended indoor temperature is 68 degrees. Set it lower at night.

How to set the "Fan" selection: Always select AUTO, never ON.

Find your system's air filter. Make sure there is one, and make sure it's clean. If not, notify your apartment manager. Some filters are cleanable; others require replacement. Clogged filters increase your cooling and heating costs.

Manage sunlight at windows. In summer, close shades, drapes or blinds to block and reflect the sun's heat outward. You'll be surprised at what a great difference this makes. In winter, let sun in, but close window coverings at night.

Use hot water wisely. Report or repair leaks promptly. A hot water leak can increase your energy costs as well as your water and sewer costs.

Summer Energy Tips

For big savings this summer, develop good energy saving habits. Big savings can come from little changes in behavior and habits. Top on any list: Proper handling of the air conditioning thermostat. Here's a quick review of low-cost and no-cost ways to save energy and money.

Cool your house to 78 degrees or your highest comfortable temperature. In summer, higher thermostat settings cost less; lower settings cost more. Set your thermostat carefully! Research on Florida homes showed that summer AC cost increases 12% for each degree the thermostat is lowered below 80 degrees.

Close shades, drapes and blinds during the day (all directions).

Wear lightweight clothing (short sleeves, shorts, cotton).

Don't try to speed-cool at a very low temperature setting when you arrive home from work or school. Choose your normal evening setting, for example 78 degrees. Your AC cools just as fast set at 78 degrees as it does at 68 degrees. Set it to 78 degrees and avoid over-cooling.

When weather is mild, use fans instead of the air conditioner. Your central air conditioner will use about 50 times more energy than a fan at medium speed.

If you have ceiling fans, run the fans and the air conditioner at the same time but set the air conditioner 2 or 3 degrees higher. You'll feel just as cool, but your overall cooling cost will be 20-30% lower!

Turn off ceiling fans when you're away. Fans cool your skin. Fans don't cool the room. Turn them off if you're not going to be there to feel the breeze.

Use a microwave instead of the range/oven. The microwave doesn’t heat the kitchen.

Keep windows and doors closed while air conditioning.

Change the air conditioner's air filter monthly during heavy use. When it's clogged, airflow is restricted -- cooling costs rise, and your system may eventually suffer a compressor failure with a $2,000+ repair bill!

Arrange items in your refrigerator for quick removal and return. Your refrigerator cools the food but heats the kitchen. The longer the door is open, the longer it runs, heating the kitchen and raising your air conditioning costs.

Vent the clothes dryer to the out-of-doors. Otherwise it pours heat and moisture into the house air.

If your dryer has an automatic cycle, use it. Over-drying wastes energy and wears out your clothes.

Clean the dryer lint filter screen frequently and check the outdoor vent opening. When lint slows the airflow, the dryer runs longer. When the vent is clogged the clothes get a long, ineffective tumbling.

Drink plenty of cool liquids. Avoid caffeine or alcohol. Eat lightly. Cook outdoors.

Plant shade trees. Outside shade can reduce air conditioning costs 30%. Shade on the east and west is most important.

Seal air leaks around doors and windows. Use caulk and weather-stripping.

Check for air duct leaks, or disconnected ducts. Duct leaks in the attic or under the house can double your cooling cost.

Close your fireplace damper!

Always set the AC thermostat FAN selection to "AUTO", never to "ON". This is important: On AUTO, humidity is kept lower, costs are much lower and comfort is higher. Don't move the fan lever to "ON"! Set the fan on "AUTO".

Keep up the habit of turning off lights as you leave a room, especially in summer. Lights add a lot of heat to the room. Better yet, change out to CFL's that use a lot less energy and produce less heat.

Have a qualified service technician conduct a seasonal checkup on your central heat pump or air conditioner. Your springtime servicing should include a check of your thermostat including leveling it if necessary; a check of your system's refrigerant charge; cleaning evaporator and condenser coils if necessary; and check for duct leaks and repair or seal as necessary.

Consider a pool pump timer. Pool pumping 24 hours/day with a 3/4 horsepower pump motor can cost nearly $80/month at current electric rates. A timer is well worth its installed cost.

Bulk up your ceiling insulation. Call Energy Services for ceiling insulation grants that pay 80% of the cost, up to $400 (or 100% of the cost up to $500 for income-qualified customers). The highest recommended level for our region is "R38" (38 R-values) or about 15 inches depth of the newer kinds of blown white fiberglass insulation. A good protective layer of ceiling insulation prevents heat from moving inward in summer and holds heat inside in winter. Note: Recently the U.S. Department of Energy moved Tallahassee into its Region 3 climate zone, which includes some fairly cold locations like Atlanta, Richmond, Kansas City and Seattle. Recommended maximum ceiling insulation level in Region 3 if you heat with electric resistance "strip" heating is R49. That would call for about 20 inches of blown white fiberglass, or 13 inches of blown cellulose insulation.

Use your bathroom vent fan after a shower.

Reconsider having an old refrigerator or freezer in your hot garage.

Avoid rooftop power ventilating fans. They tend to cost more to operate than they save, especially if the thermostat is set too low.

Make sure your air conditioner's return-air grill has plenty of clearance. Floor-level grills sometimes get covered by a rug or blocked by furniture.

Use a clothesline.

Make sure to clean the lint from your clothes dryer's outdoor exhaust vent. And make sure it's not throwing lint onto your air conditioner's outdoor condenser coils.

Make sure your air conditioner's thermostat is well away from any source or heat. Keep lamps at a distance to avoid false high temperature readings and unwanted long cooling runtimes.

If your garage was long ago converted to an enclosed, heated and cooled room, make sure it has ceiling insulation.

Make sure your ceiling fans are breezing downwards, not upwards. A common problem.

If your air conditioning ductwork is under the house and your supply air registers are at floor level, check all of them from above with a flashlight. First, it's easy for the register vanes to be accidentally kicked shut. Second, make sure the duct boot under the vent is still connected. When you look down through a floor register, you shouldn’t see the earth.

Keep all air conditioning supply air registers open. Don't close off rooms or registers. That doesn't save money, and it may lead to costly problems.

Your air conditioner shouldn't pull air through a succession of filters. If you have a filter mounted in a hallway grill, and find a second filter slotted into the air handler, remove one of the filters. If in doubt, call for an energy audit or consult with an AC technician.

Take Control Of Your Winter Heating Costs

Beware of the following problems that can lead to skyrocketing winter heating costs.

Thermostat setting is too high. 68 degrees is recommended. Set your thermostat carefully, and lower the temperature to 65 degrees at night if you have a heat pump, or 55-60 degrees overnight if you have gas, oil or electric strip heat. If you heat to 78 degrees, expect high bills.

Heat pump thermostat accidentally set to "Emergency Heat" all winter. A simple mistake that can double or triple your heating costs.

Clogged filters and restricted airflow. If you have a heat pump, anything that restricts airflow will reduce efficiency and increase your heating co