Who is right in this case

Question

My mom and dad argue about the air conditioner being on. My dad will not let it go off by itself(it's set to auto) and says if it runs longer it'll cost more. My mom says if you turn it off and on manually it will shoot the price up. Who is right?

Answer 1

When you turn your air conditioner off and turn it on latter it takes it longer to cool off your house. The reason it takes longer is because it has to cool EVERYTHING that is in the house, not just the air. If you leave it on and at the same temp it want help keep your electric bill down. Your mom is right. Set it and leave it.  

Answer 2

Your father is correct, however, manually turning the A/C off prevents the A/C from running as long which means it uses less electricity.

Automatically turning the A/C on and off takes the same amount of electricity as manually turning the A/C on and off.

Why not just raise the thermostat so the air conditioner turns off by itself sooner. With a higher thermostat setting, you save money because the A/C isn't running as long which means it uses less electricity. AND your mum and pop would both be satified and not argue about it.