The thermostat is how you control your HVAC system, so it’s key for ensuring you stay cool in summer. However, too many people take their thermostat for granted and use it in ways that end up wasting energy and harming comfort. We don’t want you to have your thermostat work against you this summer! We have some best practices for setting your thermostat that will help you find the perfect balance between saving energy and staying comfortable.
Important to Know: Your Thermostat Isn’t a Throttle
To help you understand these best practices, it’s first important to know this fact about your thermostat: it isn’t a throttle where the more you open it up, the harder it works. It’s actually a switch—it turns the AC and fan on and off. Too often, people imagine that if they drop the thermostat temperature down low, it will mean the house will cool down faster. Not true! Because the thermostat is a switch, a low setting will simply make the AC run for as long as necessary to reach that super-low (and probably uncomfortable) temperature.
Recommended Temperature Settings
What you and your household find comfortable will vary, but here’s the target temperature that we and the US Department of Energy recommend for day-to-day: 78°F. For many, this is a comfortable temperature, especially if the outdoors is in the 90s! If you have cool clothes on and run fans indoors, you’ll find it even easier to enjoy this setting.
At night, or when you leave the house, raise the thermostat by 8–10°F. You need less cooling during the evening (when temperatures are lower anyway). We don’t advise shutting the AC off completely if you’re away for a long time—the higher thermostat setting will prevent the house from overheating and will reduce the amount of power the AC has to use to cool the house when you come back.
Acclimatize, One Degree at a Time
Does 78°F still feel too warm to you or the people in your house? If so, lower the thermostat by several degrees until you find something that’s not too cold. If you can, try 76°F. Now, after a day or so, raise the thermostat by one degree. Then a few days later, raise it again. People in the home will get used to the new temperature, and you’ll eventually find the best energy-saving setting.
Don’t Go Below This Point!
No matter how you set your thermostat for the summer, please never put it at a setting lower than 68°F. You might feel tempted on the hottest days to blast the AC, but remember that you’re not cooling the house any faster, just forcing the AC to run longer. A setting lower than 68°F risks the AC freezing up and shutting down on you, so make sure you keep it above—and make sure your family knows this as well.
A Malfunctioning Thermostat?
Sometimes, thermostats go bad, and this will mean your AC turning on and off at odd times, wasting power, and making the house too warm or too cold. If you have a malfunctioning thermostat, then the best path is to call our technicians for air conditioning service in Panama City, FL.
Rely on Parker Services, Inc for your AC needs. Comfort’s just a call away!