Do you turn your air conditioner off before you head out the door for work each day? It may make sense at first to shut off the air conditioner when you’re going to be gone for an extended period of time, and it might sound like a good idea to crank your thermostat lower to cool your house faster when you return. Unfortunately, doing these very things can actually raise your heating and cooling bill and increase your energy consumption, without really achieving the intended objectives!
It’s 80 degrees in your house, and 90 degrees outside. You go to crank your thermostat down to 65 degrees and four hours later, your house is now at a temperature of 76 degrees! You also notice that you don’t think you’ve heard the air conditioner shut off at any point in the last four hours. As you can imagine, at this rate your home isn’t going to get down to a comfortable temperature any time soon, and with your air conditioner running at full capacity for hours and hours on end, visions of high energy bills fill your head.
The truth is that most air conditioners do not have variable speed handlers, which adjusts output to match demand. Most homes have AC units with one fan speed – ON. This means cranking the thermostat to 70 to get it to that temperature faster isn’t going to make a difference; the air is going to remain moving at a set rate of speed. By undercutting the desired temperature, the only thing you’re doing is wasting energy and money.
You turning off your AC while you are away for the day and you turning the thermostat way down in hopes of a quick temperature recovery. If you’re out all day with the air conditioning off, it’s going to take a massive amount of work for your system to be able to bring a stifling hot house down to the temperature you are comfortable with. It’s best to turn your thermostat up a bit, but NOT off while you’re away, and when you return to your home you should gradually lower the thermostat as needed.
The ideal solution is to invest in a programmable thermostat, which can let the house warm a bit during your time away and gradually lower the temperature to the right level before you return. Your Vail air conditioning company can help you select and install one. Setting the thermostat up 7-10 degrees while you’re away can not only save you up to 10% on your bills each month, but can also allow you to leave that thermostat alone!
Contact Climate Control Company today for more information on programmable thermostats and other ways to lower your heating and cooling bills throughout the year. We proudly serve Roaring Fork Valley, Vail Valley and all surrounding areas.
