Should You Turn Off Your AC During The Day? Views From Your Trusted AC Repair Professional | Scottsdale, AZ
When the summer season arrives, your air conditioning system is among the most important appliances at your home. Any homeowner wants to keep their home cool during the hot days. Then the energy utility bills kick in, and you are left wondering, should I leave my air conditioner on an entire day? Is this cheaper? Or should I switch off the unit when going outside, or even the indoor space cooled? This is a genuine concern many AC repair technicians face daily when out for repairs and maintenance. Since an air conditioner is an energy guzzler, you should be in the know. The reality is that you should leave your air conditioner on from an energy bill perspective. Turning it off will only cost you more. But why is leaving the air conditioner on the entire day cheaper?
Why is Leaving the AC on the Entire Day Cheaper?
Ok, your air conditioner is one of the home appliances which cost the highest to operate. The Department of Energy estimates that air conditioners use over 6% of all the generated energy in the country. Thus, running an air conditioner can raise the energy bills at your home. However, the question of whether to leave the unit all day still arises. Fortunately, there are certain measures that you could take to save more on energy while at the same time sustaining your comfort levels. Well, to start with, don’t turn your air conditioner off during the daytime. But why?
Your AC repair technician can tell you that besides cooling your indoor air, an air conditioner is also responsible for regulating the humidity levels at your home. Hence, when the air conditioner is off for some time, you should know that humidity levels at your home will rise. The temperatures are also likely to increase, making your home pretty uncomfortable to stay in by the time you return.
Then, what happens? When you turn your air conditioner back on, you will have to crank it a way down as you try to regain the comfort of your home. Therefore, your system will overwork, making it use more energy. Additionally, overworking your air conditioning unit continuously increases the likelihood of more wear and tear. This results in more AC repairs. Therefore, saving some bucks by turning off the air conditioner might cost you more.
Why It’s More Energy Efficient to Leave Your Air Conditioner Running?
As explained above, the air conditioning unit maintains your home’s temperatures and humidity. When you aren’t at home, it is advised that you set your air conditioner to about seventy-eight degrees per the recommendations of the Department of Energy. In doing so, you will have struck a good balance between maintaining your home’s comfort and saving on electrical power. In this setting, your air conditioner will only be operational sometimes. Rather it operated in cycles.
Every cycle releases conditioned air below the normal temperature at 15-20 degrees Fahrenheit. The cycles keep your home comfortable while the thermostat establishes the required cycles. The Department of Energy recommends setting the thermostat at 68 degrees Fahrenheit if you are home. The 10-degree difference ensures your indoors will be comfortable when you return home. This way, you don’t have to overwork your unit, reducing your need for AC repairs and saving on energy.
Ensuring Energy Efficiency When Leaving Your Air Conditioner Running Entire Day
Changing Air Filters
One of the best ways to keep your air conditioning unit operating effectively is by having clean filters. This keeps the pollutants from your unit’s air ducts and various components. The blocked air filters will clog the air airflow. This, in turn, makes the coils in your air conditioning units freeze. This increases the likelihood of appliance failure, prompting a need for AC repair. The unit cannot cool the air with frozen coils, meaning the temperatures increase beyond what is set in the thermostat. Additionally, this will increase the electricity utility bills because the air conditioner is always overworking.
Hence, it would be best if you change the air filters regularly. The recommendation is that you change them out after every 1-3 months. However, if you have toddlers and pets, you should do this after every month. It is recommended that homeowners do a weekly inspection of their filters. The earlier you change the filters, the better. Otherwise, you will be in for issues such as appliance failure, reduced efficiency, mold growth, or even a need for AC repairs to patch these issues.
Correct Thermostat Placement
Thermostats are critical in ensuring your air conditioning unit maintains an ideal temperature level at your home. They monitor the average temperatures and signal the heating and air conditioning system on what to do. Therefore, placing it correctly could result in correct readings. For instance, when the thermostat is installed on the outer walls, it might read higher temperatures in the summer. This means that the thermostat could send a signal for cooling when your home doesn’t need it, increasing the energy utility bills. Hence, have it placed at an ideal place by hiring a professional AC repair technician.
Use a Smart or Programmable Thermostat
Many AC repair professionals recommend installing a smart or programmable thermostat, especially when you know you’ll leave your unit the entire day. Programmable thermostats protect your home from excessive humidity, molds, and bugs. With a smart or programmable thermostat, presetting your temperatures per your preference is easier. For a programmable thermostat, you can set slightly higher temperatures when out. A smart thermostat will adjust the cooling depending on your schedule and the outdoor temperature conditions. You can save a fortune on energy bills by having an AC repair technician install either.
Contact Us
Do you want to learn more ways of saving money from energy utility bills? Call us at One Hour Air Conditioning & Heating of Phoenix today. Our AC services are second to none.
See our previous post on this topic here.
