It’s a long-standing debate: Should you turn off AC units during daylight hours when nobody’s home? The question comprises issues related to operating costs as well as system wear and tear. Certain aspects of the matter are, of course, not in question. For example, if you have pets in the house, definitely set your thermostat to maintain a safe, healthy indoor temperature while you’re gone.
There are definite downsides to a decision to turn off AC completely and let the house heat up to extreme levels. For example:
- Other household appliances that are operating — particularly the refrigerator and/or the freezer — will run almost continuously in that overheated indoor environment and use more energy, as well as incur excess wear and tear.
- Because humidity reduction is a vital part of the air-conditioning process, if you turn off AC entirely, indoor humidity may accumulate to very high levels, potentially damaging sensitive electronics like computers, warping wooden floors or furniture, and triggering the growth of toxic mold.
The Middle Road
The verdict in this controversy seems to indicate that the middle road is best: Leave the air conditioner on while you’re gone, but set the thermostat temperature several degrees higher than the normal setting you use when the house is occupied.
Experiments at a major university showed that raising the thermostat setting by 5 to 10 degrees while you’re away from home had positive benefits:
- Reduced monthly electricity costs by up to 11% as opposed to leaving the thermostat at the normal, cooler setting.
- Less wear and tear on AC components as the system runs shorter cycles to maintain more moderate temperatures during the day.
- Normal lower occupied temperature can be restored in very short time when occupants return.
- Because heat energy naturally flows into colder zones, keeping the house slightly warmer during the day actually slows the rate of heat infiltration.
To make an informed choice to turn off AC while you’re away, consult the experts at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.
Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area