Any Advice About Maximizing Air Conditioner Efficiency?

[MillauFr]

The obvious answer is not to have air conditioning at all. We debated on installing it but I would rather spend the money on Disney vacations. So no A/C for me.

 

[wendow]

I honestly don't know? But I remember my mom telling me don't let them fool you, your fan uses electricity to run.

I only turn my fan on at night because the air doesn't seem to kick on as much at night with the lower temps and no sun, so it gets stuffy upstairs. I can't say I'm noticing any more of an uptick in my bill having run the fan at night when the air is on. It is definitely cooler!!

We do the same. Run the fan only at night. It gets cool here at night so the fan keeps the air moving around. We live in CO where electricity is very inexpensive. Summer bills here with a/c are about $130 mo...and that is on a very, very hot stretch...

 

[wendow]

The obvious answer is not to have air conditioning at all. We debated on installing it but I would rather spend the money on Disney vacations. So no A/C for me.

Ack, I am all about saving for WDW but no a/c makes for bad sleeping. I'm in CO. Originally from TX so I do love my a/c. Gotta have it or I just cannot sleep well

 

[MillauFr]

Ack, I am all about saving for WDW but no a/c makes for bad sleeping. I'm in CO. Originally from TX so I do love my a/c. Gotta have it or I just cannot sleep well

I'm just cheap and refuse to pay for it. I also got rid of my car 16 years ago and ride my bicycle to work instead so I could spend more money on Disney vacations. Not for everyone but it works for our family.

 

[wendow]

I'm just cheap and refuse to pay for it. I also got rid of my car 16 years ago and ride my bicycle to work instead so I could spend more money on Disney vacations. Not for everyone but it works for our family.

I do understand you. I sacrifice a lot for the love of Disney Our family eats out about once every 6 mos all in the name of saving for WDW lol.

 

[wenrob]

I agree, it depends where you live. But I'm in California too, in an area with a publicly owned and lower cost utility, where it is currently 100 degrees at 630 pm. I had one of those programmable thermostats to set different temperatures for different times of the day. My energy usage went up. The AC just worked too hard in the evening trying to cool the house off. It's the same idea that your refrigerator works on, a constant temperature uses less power.

In Vegas here. Not publicly owned and the cost is ridiculous but I agree with the rest. 100+ during the day and in the evening, it just doesn't cool down much overnight. We've tried alternating the temps but then the AC runs for HOURS trying to cool things down again making our bill higher than it would be if we just left it alone. This is addition to running fans in every room 24/7. So we leave it be and just accept that our power bill will be twice as much in the summer vs the rest of the year.

 

[Albort]

In Vegas here. Not publicly owned and the cost is ridiculous but I agree with the rest. 100+ during the day and in the evening, it just doesn't cool down much overnight. We've tried alternating the temps but then the AC runs for HOURS trying to cool things down again making our bill higher than it would be if we just left it alone. This is addition to running fans in every room 24/7. So we leave it be and just accept that our power bill will be twice as much in the summer vs the rest of the year.

have you considered buying swamp coolers for your house?

 

[wenrob]

have you considered buying swamp coolers for your house?

We had one in our first house and it helped in warmer months but hot months they just are not as efficient in cooling the place down. It never really helped our bill much. This house is twice the size, the investment wouldn't be worth the return. We do have one in the garage that keeps it bearable for DH to hang out in his man cave. In the heat of the summer it still runs about 84 degrees with it going 24/7.

 

[Albort]

We had one in our first house and it helped in warmer months but hot months they just are not as efficient in cooling the place down. It never really helped our bill much. This house is twice the size, the investment wouldn't be worth the return. We do have one in the garage that keeps it bearable for DH to hang out in his man cave. In the heat of the summer it still runs about 84 degrees with it going 24/7.

I guess u can go pay a casino cheaply by playing the penny slots all day long!

 

[supersnoop]

I run a misting system around my outside a/c unit. Depending on your temperatures, humidity, and cost for water, that could save a few bucks.

 

[tzolkin]

It's the same idea that your refrigerator works on, a constant temperature uses less power.

Everything I have ever read says exactly the opposite. An AC unit works most efficiently when it's running at full power (cooling the house back down) rather than starting and stopping all day long to maintain one temperature. In addition to being less energy efficient, fluctuating to keep a constant temperature all day is more taxing on the machine so it will need to be serviced/replaced more frequently.

 

[wenrob]

Everything I have ever read says exactly the opposite. An AC unit works most efficiently when it's running at full power (cooling the house back down) rather than starting and stopping all day long to maintain one temperature. In addition to being less energy efficient, fluctuating to keep a constant temperature all day is more taxing on the machine so it will need to be serviced/replaced more frequently.

I think it really depends on what kind of heat you're talking about. As I said in my previous post that cooling down again takes hours here, like all day to make the temperature tolerable, not comfortable, tolerable. And my bill is the same, not any better.

 

[wenrob]

I guess u can go pay a casino cheaply by playing the penny slots all day long!

When we have brown outs we go to the movies.

 

[tzolkin]

I think it really depends on what kind of heat you're talking about. As I said in my previous post that cooling down again takes hours here, like all day to make the temperature tolerable, not comfortable, tolerable. And my bill is the same, not any better.

Air conditioners are calculated with "design temperatures" in mind, so if you have a unit that was designed for your area it should function properly if you're within the temperature range. (If it's abnormally hot, it will struggle to keep up.) Usually if it can't cool the house down it's because there's something else wrong-- dirty filters, leaky ducts, low refrigerant.

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

We're in Texas (summer highs 100+ and night lows 80 degrees) and just keep the AC set at 78 all the time. Our electric bills are less than when we lived in N.Y.! Many of our neighbors have solar panels, but pay so much monthly to lease the panels (around $100) that an electric bill of $40 is still more than we pay without solar.

 

[wenrob]

Air conditioners are calculated with "design temperatures" in mind, so if you have a unit that was designed for your area it should function properly if you're within the temperature range. (If it's abnormally hot, it will struggle to keep up.) Usually if it can't cool the house down it's because there's something else wrong-- dirty filters, leaky ducts, low refrigerant.

I'm not sure what to tell you other than my experience. It IS abnormally hot here in the summer time. I've tried every suggestion there is when it comes to efficiency over 25 years and three houses of homeownership here. Believe me when I say if there was a way to lower my power bill without it being 90 degrees inside I would do it. What works best for me (and my bill) is leaving it at one temp and not messing with it.

 

[osopecoso]

I agree, it depends where you live. But I'm in California too, in an area with a publicly owned and lower cost utility, where it is currently 100 degrees at 630 pm. I had one of those programmable thermostats to set different temperatures for different times of the day. My energy usage went up. The AC just worked too hard in the evening trying to cool the house off. It's the same idea that your refrigerator works on, a constant temperature uses less power.

Yes there are many factors. We just had 2 new trane 4 ton units installed along with new air handlers (per code both compressor and air handler must be replaced at the same time). Getting quotes to hook up solar to them.

 

[tzolkin]

I'm not sure what to tell you other than my experience. It IS abnormally hot here in the summer time. I've tried every suggestion there is when it comes to efficiency over 25 years and three houses of homeownership here. Believe me when I say if there was a way to lower my power bill without it being 90 degrees inside I would do it. What works best for me (and my bill) is leaving it at one temp and not messing with it.

Sorry if my post came across as offensive. I wasn't trying to argue with your experience or claim that you were wrong about your expenses. I was just offering some possible solutions for why a house would take many hours/all day to cool off.

 

[wenrob]

Sorry if my post came across as offensive. I wasn't trying to argue with your experience or claim that you were wrong about your expenses. I was just offering some possible solutions for why a house would take many hours/all day to cool off.

And I didn't mean to sound like I was taking offense.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

We live in Texas & it's hot here. This summer is the hottest yet as our humidity is so high this year. For me surviving without a/c would be about impossible.

I run our a/c about 78 when I'm home during the day & up it to 80 /82 when I'm out for the day or outside in the yard. When it's 100 outside... 80 feels pretty good inside.

At night we lower it to 73. We also run ceiling fans in the rooms to keep it cooler.

I think upping the degrees during the day saves up money on our bill.
We have a 2500 square foot house & are averaging 150. A month on our bill right now & it's an all electric home.

I've been pretty happy with the cost so far.