OT: AC control for your house question

[Bully13]

what's the best way to leave your thermostat when you leave your house for work in the summer? I've been jacking mine to 87 when I leave in the a.m. and then gradually bringing it down once I come home. I reduce it 3 degrees, then it kicks off and once it kicks back in, I reduce it 3 more degrees until it cools off. repeat until it's comfy.

I've always thought to go from 87 to 77 in one cycle is too much toll on the system.

I just got told by an AC tech that is not the way to go. says it costs more and takes more toll on your unit and elec bill to do it the way I've been doing it.

need some expert opinion on this. I want to save electricity money and treat my unit kindly. during the summer, it's my 2nd favorite unit.

 

[dudehead]

I had an HVAC pro tell me the same thing: only bump it up slightly when gone. We turn ours to 78 when gone and about 74 to 75 when here.

 

[Gen. Grant]

Yes, it's bad for your unit to work that much. Your wallet also. Leave it 5 to 7 degrees higher than normal. If it won't be for a long time.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Yeah I wouldn't go tha high.

We put ours on 78 when we leave.

 

[RingN2012]

As an ASHRAE-educated controls guy, id recommend putting it on 78 or 80 at the most. That way you won't "lose" the house by creating too much of a delta T for your unit to make up when you come home.
I've never personally used one but those Nest thermostats that you can command from your phone are the wave of the future.

 

[Steakonastick]

Best way is to get a thermostat you can program. We set ours

7:00am 74
8:00 am 76
4:00 74
6:00 72
10pm 70.

Turning it way up and way down when you arrive home is awful. Not only will it raise your electrical bill but also the wear on your system.

Also do not buy fancy air filters get the cheap ones that last 30 days that cost a few bucks if that.

 

[Indndawg]

Repeated short-cycling is what wears the system out

Best way is to get a thermostat you can program. We set ours

7:00am 74
8:00 am 76
4:00 74
6:00 72
10pm 70.

Turning it way up and way down when you arrive home is awful. Not only will it raise your electrical bill but also the wear on your system.

Also do not buy fancy air filters get the cheap ones that last 30 days that cost a few bucks if that.

I pretty much agree what steak said.

I would NOT set a T-stat to a comfy temp when nobody's home for hours in the summer heat.

When we're gone, we program Tstat:

77* from 6 AM to 3 PM
73* from 3 to 6 PM
70* from 6 to 9 PM
<70* 9 PM to bedtime
back to 77* at 6:00 AM

Those nice and expensive air filters trap alot of dust, but they also put a huge drag on your return air. We use the super deep pleated type (35.00) filter. But you change them out 1x per year and they allow about as much air into the system as a cheapo blue filter.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

If I had mine set on 76 at 8 am I would be a pissed off guy.

 

[BogeyGolfer.sixpack]

Leave it on 77 all day bump it down to 73-75 in afternoon- night...no issues...

I'm not sure what brand I have but my AC will blow snowballs and I have all electric set-up and my bill is very reasonable in the summer months.

 

[WayboDawg]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I usually turn mine to 76 in the afternoons, and when I leave for work in the mornings I just turn the whole unit off. By the time I get home at 5 in the afternoon the house is about 83 degrees this time of year, and I bump it back down to 76. I just turn the ceiling fan in the living room on while the AC is cooling the house down and I'm fine. My light bill is usually around $90. My wife would keep it on 80 if I would let her.

 

[colodawg]

What is this thing called air conditioning? Move to 7700 feet above sea level and you don't need it. Of course the only SEC sports I get is on TV, so there are tradeoffs.

 

[Optimus Prime 4]

I have a Nest and have cut my power by almost half.

I jack it up to 82 during the day, then to 76 when I get home, and 71 at night. Then up to 74 early so I wake up easier. The Nest instructions say as long as your unit is sufficient making up a large delta is not bad for the AC. It takes about 25 minutes to go from 82 to 75. The Nest's best feature is it keeps the fan running after the condenser shuts off, taking advantage of the still cold stuff. And it somehow gave my unit two speeds now.

I'm a big proponent of fans if I'm just sitting watching TV.

 

[MaxwellSmart]

Best way is to get a thermostat you can program. We set ours

7:00am 74
8:00 am 76
4:00 74
6:00 72
10pm 70.

Turning it way up and way down when you arrive home is awful. Not only will it raise your electrical bill but also the wear on your system.

Also do not buy fancy air filters get the cheap ones that last 30 days that cost a few bucks if that.

We do it close to that, only I leave at 4:30 am and get home at 2pm.

5am - 72
8am - 74
2pm - 72
7pm - 70

 

[barely]

Nest...ehh

I jack it up to 82 during the day, then to 76 when I get home, and 71 at night. Then up to 74 early so I wake up easier. The Nest instructions say as long as your unit is sufficient making up a large delta is not bad for the AC. It takes about 25 minutes to go from 82 to 75. The Nest's best feature is it keeps the fan running after the condenser shuts off, taking advantage of the still cold stuff. And it somehow gave my unit two speeds now.

I'm a big proponent of fans if I'm just sitting watching TV.

going from 82 to 75 in 25 minutes has nothing to do with a thermostat, Id thank the man who insulated your home. The nest is a retail store, consumer stat. Im not saying that it doesnt work, it does just fine. A better thermostat is the Honeywell Prestige. It is expensive, but it does everything you need it to do. Its best application...when my mother in law comes over and cranks the temp up at night (????) I can just grab my phone and turn it back down or lock her out completely. Ive got two of them and they will even shoot you an email when something is wrong with your system.

https://www.forwardthinking.honeywell.com/products/thermostats/thermostat_products.html

PM me if you need one, I sell them.

 

[RougeDawg]

I would say it depends on the age of your house and amount of insulation...

I live in a 1920's Craftsman in New Orleans, and they did not put any insulation in the outer walls of the home. Leaving the AC below 78-80 all day during the summer here and it runs almost non stop. I've been leaving it 82-84 during the day as I want it to run enough to keep the walls from reaching 90+ degrees. The build up heat in the structural materials are what make it harder to cool off at night. IE if you have brick on a south or west facing wall, those rooms will take much longer to cool once you turn down temp.

Also how efficient is your home? If well sealed it might not be as bad to leave it cooler during the day, but with an older home, the efficiency isn't there and leaving the AC on during the day just wastes energy. I don't see the need to keep a space that no one will occupy all day very cool. But turning the unit off completely allowed the inside temps to rise into the 86-87 range and the unit struggled all night and never catches up.

I've noticed less energy use by leaving it 82ish during the day and stepping it down once I get home at night. Also being an older home, I've installed booster fans to each of the bedrooms to pump more cold air in at night, while not having to keep the whole house and thermostat as low. Keep it 76-77 in house and bedroom drops down to 73-74 with booster fans. Might be a way to go.

 

[fishwater99]

Insulation Question...

How much should you have and can you have too much?

 

[Wicked Pissah]

Im building a new home and the builder said they will blow extra foam at 400 hundo a room. Is it worth it? It is a 3 story home with no shade or trees.

 

[kired]

If I've learned one thing from this thread...

it's that I keep my house too cool. There is no way I could keep my house 75+ when I'm there.

75-76 when we're not home
73-74 when we are home
67-68 at night