Your monthly energy bills can take up 5-22% of your income. When the Summer months get hot, how do you stay cool without breaking the bank?
There are over 1.6 billion air conditioning units in the world that help homeowners stay comfortable during humid seasons. If you work from home as a parent or entrepreneur, you’ll be glad for some cost-efficient ways to cool down.
What’s the temp to set your thermostat at during Summer days? There are important factors you need to consider before adjusting your house temperature. Read on to find the most cost-efficient and energy-efficient setting for your AC unit.
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Finding Comfort and Efficiency
Every time you adjust your thermostat or turn on the AC, you’re making your HVAC system kick in and use energy. If you’re constantly turning it up too high, it will wear down your AC unit and raise energy costs.
Some homes have smart thermostats that adjust its settings according to your household’s behavior. This type of thermostat will save you money, but sometimes you need to know how to make the most energy-efficient adjustments yourself.
If you’re trying to figure out what the ideal temperature for your home is, there are some factors you’ll need to take into account. Once you find your perfect solution though, you can save up to 10% off your energy bills this Summer.
What are the major challenges to address when choosing your ideal home temperature? Here are four questions to ask yourself before you set your thermostat.
1. How Humid Is It?
Depending on where you live, Summertime heat will either be dry or uncomfortably humid. When the warm weather is combined with high humidity, it will make you feel hotter and tempt you to boost your AC.
Raising your AC during high-humidity days will make your energy bill skyrocket. Before you choose an expensively high temperature, try other ways to lower the humidity in your home. You can buy a dehumidifier, take colder showers, and clean your AC filters.
2. What’s My House Layout?
Parts of your home will naturally feel warmer or colder depending on how the sun hits it. The room temperature of your south-facing kitchen might be boiling, but your north-facing nursery might be too cold.
You’ll need to find a moderate AC temperature that doesn’t freeze out some rooms. For energy-efficient ways to cool off south-facing rooms, try dark curtains to minimize sunlight.
3. Who’s Home?
You don’t want to run your AC at a low temperature while everyone is gone for school and work. This will waste both energy and money.
Instead, you can try raising the temperature of your home during the day and lowering it when everyone is home. If you work from your home office but need to leave for two hours or more, you’ll want to remember to adjust the thermostat regularly.
4. What’s Comfortable for Everyone?
Not all temperatures will feel the same to everyone. A cool 72 degrees might feel perfect for you, but it might be too cold for your grandma or infant. Before you set your thermostat, you’ll need to consider a comfortable temperature for everyone in the house.
The Best Summertime House Temperature
After considering all the factors, how do you know what the best temperature is for your home in the Summer? The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) recommends an average temperature setting of 73F to 79F.
One way to decide on your perfect temperature between the recommended range is to adjust your thermostat to 80 degrees. From there, you can observe how your family reacts as you lower the thermostat by varying degrees.
Once you reach the perfect temp, you’ll find that the comfortable setting saves you money on energy bills. There are also tips you can follow to maximize cooling efforts in your home.
Turn up the Temp
While you and your family are away, turn up the thermostat to at least 10 degrees higher than your “at home” temperature. The higher inner temperature will slow down the flow of heat into your home.
It will also be energy-efficient to cool things off when you get home. Raising your home’s temperature before you leave can save you up to 10 percent on monthly energy bills.
Give Your Curtains a Makeover
Try hanging up window treatments that block sunlight from heating up your home. This is a great idea if you want to spend less on the cost of AC, but don’t want to sacrifice comfort for cost.
Limit Appliances
Blow-drying your hair every morning can boost the internal temperature of your home. When you limit the use of appliances, you’ll cut down on energy usage and minimize the heat in your home.
Install Ceiling Fans
This is a simple trick to cool down rooms and prepare your home for summer. Ceiling fans help blow cool air down and are great to have in bedrooms and offices.
Update Cooling Units
You wouldn’t neglect your home business, so why would you neglect your AC unit? Checking up on the state of your AC unit can help it run more efficiently.
Remember to clean out filters and schedule necessary repairs. The cost of these updates will save you money in the long run.
Stay Cool and Save Money
Finding out what temperature to set your AC can be difficult when you want to save money. You might think running your AC at high speed every Summer is the best solution, but it will actually cause more harm to your home and wallet.
US homeowners like to set their thermostats to an average of 78 degrees during warmer months. Depending on your home and lifestyle factors, a range of 72F to 79F will be your best house temperature.
Follow these tips to maximize your home’s cooling and save money on Summertime bills. You don’t have to sacrifice comfort for cost if you know how to cool your home efficiently.
Want more AC tips? Check out our list of common AC mistakes to avoid this year.
