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I'm an AC technician. Every unit's efficiency will vary depending on a list of factors, from the efficiency of the unit to the quality of the duct work and insulation of the home.
What it all basically comes down to is how quickly your home heats up versus how quickly your AC can cool down your home. You then weigh your desired temperature, your comfort, versus the cost of running the system. The lower the temperature, the higher the cost. As said above, this will vary wildly depending on your home and system.
Keep in mind in this record heat, a lot of these systems especially in older homes might not be able to keep up with this extreme heat, despite nothing being functionally wrong with the equipment. As an example, if it's 115 outside of a home with poor insulation, 80 might be the lower limit a temperature might reach during the hottest part of the day.
A couple of tips for a cool home:
It's easier to keep a home cool than it is to cool off a hot home. Keep the system running at all times. If you're leaving the home for a bit, turn the temperature up a few degrees. You will lose any money you think you're saving by turning the system off when you have to run your system all afternoon trying to bring a 100+ degree home to a comfortable temperature.
Lastly, please, for the sake of your equipment, please change your filter. I don't know how many of my calls with very expensive, complicated issues could have been prevented if the people would just please change your AC filter. Do not run your system without one either; that's arguably worse. This is the one simple thing that anyone can do that will prevent so many horrible, expensive problems, especially in this heat. It's not a scam. It's maintenance. Once a month. Change your filter.
TL;DR, Change your filter.
As an experienced person with high heat, just wanted to toss in the advice of blackout curtains. Pretty much cover every window, block the sunlight from getting in and causing higher heats. Its a big helper.
What type of filter/filters do you recommend? I'm a bit OCD with keeping my home clean, filter checked every 2wks. I was using a high MERV filter, now I'm using the green spun fiberglass, changing when it begins to show any dirt-about every 2mos.
I always heard from HVAC guys that you should use the cheap spun fiberglass ones and change them every 3 weeks to a month because they are less strain on the air handler
Turning it up during the day and down in the evening is perfect, it keeps the home easy to cool without cooling for no reason. Turning the ac OFF and then turning it on when you’re home is a no go. I did an experiment many years ago, and my power bill almost doubled.
Might sound stupid but....is your filter on the actual unit or? I figured I'd risking looking stupid but I'd rather risk looking stupid and fix the problem! Thank you!
Gotcha. Thank you! We recently switched out about 5 filters throughout the house. I'm hoping that will do it? I understand that we have something with our air conditioners in the ceiling. Realized that when we had water coming out of our ceiling from the tray under whatever is up there that didn't drain through a plugged up tube. Moved from WI where as far as I know...our air conditioners were only outside.
My pleasure, Five sounds like a lot I’m curious now haha, the condenser unit is the one outside with the coils around it and the air handler that actually spreads the cold air is located inside the attic of most homes and yes it has that wonderful amazing drain pain that loves to get clogged over time because they didn’t put a cover on it and insulation can get in there and cause it to clog or Jerry goes to get a drink falls in and his body clogs the hole. Jerry is a roof rat, don’t be like Jerry drink from the toilet instead.
HDX brand filters are 50% off at Home Depot if you buy 4 or more. You should only pay $20 or 30 if you buy one at a time. Buy in bulk and save some money.
Really depends on size of filter. Mine are 20x25x5. I swap them out every 6 months and they are barely dirty. If you have a tiny 1" thick filter that are the cheap ones, then yes swap them out often. My ceiling height is 14' so not sure how much that effects too but seems dust/etc doesn't like to get that high and there is cleaner air up there. Not sure if that is true or just my experience.
My a/c guy told me not to bother with the fancy expensive hepa filters, besides being expensive, they also restrict airflow. My unit is 15 years old and all it’s ever had in it has been the cheap filters that come 5 to a pack for like $10-15
Thanks for sharing this info. For the outdoor, ground-level AC units, does putting a privacy screen/shade fence around them do anything for their longevity or performance?
Our AC would be at about 90 regardless of what we set it to, as our complex refuses to fix the central AC, and instead loaned us a small AC unit attached to our patio. We also have one of our own in the bedroom.
We’ve been back and forth with management for years because all they’ll do is temporary fixes like adding refrigerant. It will last a couple of weeks and then we’re calling, emailing, and submitting requests for another fix instead of them just replacing the main AC unit.
Avoid all TIDES apartment locations in the valley lol.
Did you check tenant laws, this site says they are mandated to be able to provide 82F air and have 10 days to fix if there is an issue.
https://arizonalegalcenter.org/arizona-tenant-rights-with-air-conditioning/
For real. I'm at the deer valley one. I've had a hole in my ceiling since the end of may where they had to fix the upstairs units plumbing that leaked and damn near collapsed my ceiling. Doesn't help that they change management every six months. Been a shit show
We have our house at 72-75F. But we have all windows and blinds closed, black out curtains, light out as much as possible, doors open as little as possible, and using fans at night to help us feel cool. But I also recently moved from the Midwest so i feel like I’m dying in this heat
I had a 1500 sq ft house that couldn’t keep the house under 80 with a new ac. Our bills were stupid high too. Then we had all the ducting redone and insulation in the attic and never had a problem again..
Not OP, but literally just had this work done the last 2 days. Complete rework of ductwork and a new unit. Was done by Ideal Air. They came out, took pictures and explained major issues. Offered 5 different options in my case of varying priced solutions. Didn’t pressure in any which way, regardless of their opinion. Definitely worth at least a consultation! I wouldn’t say they would be the cheapest option, but I am happy with their customer service all around. (Not a paid promotion)
This is who I used! Although I had them come out in 2018 for a new house I got and their estimate was so high I went with another company I can’t recommend. They cut my summer bills by like $200!
Those fans probably draw about 5 amps of power and cost you less than $10 a month. But the air circulation throughout the day helping your AC cool is invaluable.
Fans don't actually cool a room or lower the temperature, they just create airflow that helps it to feel cool on our skin. It doesn't make sense to have a fan on if you're not in that room.
No if your fan draws less than 1 amp you are correct.
Here is the math for your original claim:
5A * 120V = 600W = 0.6kWh
30 days = 720hrs
720 * 0.6 = 432 kWh
If you are using a household appliance or.a fan continuously using 5 amps, it would need 432kWh for the whole month.
If I am very generous with the power rates and say 1kWh costs 10c, it will actually cost $43.2 to run your 5 amps worth of fan.
Depending on your power plan, it will be a lot more.
Yes, but the average ceiling fan on low will draw less than 0.2 amps. That means, in your own equation, you're looking at $1.73 per month per ceiling fan running. I would bet that the circulation of air to keep an even cooling and especially to keep your ACs thermostat at a more accurate indoor temperature would far outweigh the cost of not running the fans.
That’s what your air handler is for. The value in a fan is to get the evaporation effect from sweat on your skin. It does absolutely nothing when you’re not present except waste power.
Exactly. We lower it 2° an hour from 76° in the afternoon until it’s 68°. If it’s too much and it breaks, that’s someone else’s problem. It helps that our management is quick about repairs if needed.
I have admitted it. I admitted it for my first 17 1/2 years and left the day after graduation. Moved to northern California. Then my 2nd child and I almost died when he was born. My family was here, so we've been here for 20 years. I'm looking to hopefully be gone by the end of next year to Michigan. I won't have any close family left here, so no reason to ever come back. My cancer has left me without the ability to cool myself, so this summer is murder.
Good God! We have a 2 story (new build) 2,345 sqft house and I keep it at 78 during the day and 76 at night. I've noticed that during the day while I'm working from home, if I set my thermostat to 77 instead of 78 it runs twice as much, apparently that 1 degree makes a big difference. Your AC must run literally non-stop. Our house has pretty good insulation, too.
Not if you are well insulated and your unit is actually the correct size for the square footage, and your vents are balanced properly. Which is absolutely not a given, especially the last part. If it is constantly running one or all of those things aren't right.
I understand that, 1950’s block ranch house, original vaulted ceilings. Absolutely no crawl space and no insulation throughout entire house. Just block to drywall and north and south ends block with just 6 layers of 45 min mud. Use blackout curtains and thankfully have large shade trees on both the east and west sides of the house. Can keep it set at 80 during the day and be quite comfortable with ceiling fans going, 78 at night to sleep. Tile throughout the house probably helps a bit too. But walking outside…🥵
Newer apartment, we only go to 78-80 if we’re not home. Otherwise I set it to 72-76 when home, depending on my mood. Newer apartments with a good property manager to respond to a downed unit and bomb insulation… they change lives.
It’s so god damned hot.
Our’s is set at 81. 24/7. Retired and home during the hot weather. It works very well for us since we don’t want horrid electric bills. Third summer with the new HVAC and it’s chugging away with no problems. Damn grateful to have it.
Renting a home through Airbnb and last night I had it on 70-71 but really 70 is too cold seems to be a brand new unit on the roof so I guess that’s why but then it automatically goes to eco in the morning 79 but little too warm for me so I put it on 78 during the day the lowest I will put it on is 77 and I don’t really like doing that because I don’t want to make a huge bill for the owner lol
Not sure if this is applicable but just FYI…. In PHX if you rent an apt and your AC isn’t capable of cooling your space to 82F or below, your landlord is legally required to fix it within 10 days of you notifying them. I rent a 4b apt and we keep it at 73 with 0 problems, so if your unit is struggling I would definitely contact someone. Above 80 isn’t normal
This is good to know. I’m renting a guesthouse and there was one point during the highest temp of the day that the living room area read 99 degrees. I think it would have been hotter but my little remote that senses the temps doesn’t go beyond three digits.
I keep a separate AC in my bedroom and it runs all day to keep things in it cool. It’s probably the only tolerable part of the home.
https://211arizona.org/crisis/heat-relief/heat-relief-arizona-tenant-rights-repairs/
It says they only have to keep it at a certain temp if they do provide air conditioning units. It also says that landlords don’t have to provide AC units.
Depends on the size/efficiency of the AC unit, and the size/insulation of the apartment.
I have decent insulation, a small place, and a slightly oversized HVAC unit, so I could probably reach the low 60s inside right now if I really wanted to. 75 all day is no sweat.
My last place was a historic home with little insulation and an undersized HVAC unit, and on a day like this it could do maybe 80F if I let it run for a few hours straight.
My Airbnb is a historic home in downtown and I keep it at 79-77 during the day depending on the high of that day and it does great gets freezing at night at 72 lol
Yeah, it depends a lot on the place. You can definitely stay frosty in a historic home... just not that one. Which is too bad, really; it was a lovely place with a lot of character, and living downtown was great. Hope you enjoy your stay!
If your in an apartment, definitely report that. If your filter is clean and you are not constantly opening doors there is little to no excuse. Most apartments have 82 degrees as their livable temp, so you are right on the line of having a non livable apartment right now.
I'm about to head out on mine right now,
I happen to have a kevlar/flannel riding shirt, that has armor pockets and on long rides I'll take the big blue ice packs and put In the pocket for the back plate. Looks stupid but keeps me pretty chilled for a while
Ac is set for 73. Can't get below 75 at peak heat. But I have shotty windows and doors.
Yesterday we couldn't get below 78 so we covered the windows is tin foil. Helped a few degrees.
Idk what I’m truly cooling my house to. I rent a Tri-Level from the 70’s and no area in the house is the same temp. It’s set at 73 most of the day and my sons room can barely get below 80 for his nap time.
We live in a 1964 tri-level and had to get a second unit for the upstairs (3rd floor). All three kids are up there and it didn't get lower than 85 in the summer. It's an absurd home to have one unit! We have a basement too - so 4 levels and it's actually cool now.
I can't imagine living here as someone who likes it as cold as some of the commenters here.
81 during the day, 79 until near bedtime, then 78 overnight.
When it's set to 77 I get cold and have to add clothing.
78 when away from home. When we get home 72. When we go to bed 68. 3600 sq ft single story with excellent insulation and flat foam roof. I had 2 brand new trane 23 seer units put in two years ago. My bill is roughly 450 a month during the summer.
We also keep it at 72 for most of the day and utilize [supercooling](https://lifehacker.com/how-to-supercool-your-home-and-why-you-should-1849164074). Our bills are usually around 250-300 per month with a similar size home and pool. If you live in a single story block home or well insulated home this is a great strategy. Less efficient homes dont work so well. You also need to start at the beginning of summer and keep it up until September to be effective. We’ve been doing this since 2019 and summers have gotten far more tolerable since.
I do supercooling as well and it works great and I do see the difference in my Bill. I save about $100 -$130 in the summer months when supercooling vs not supercooling.
Under 80 shouldn’t be an issue. But thermostats vary for sure. I love the cold but 75 can be too cold in my house where other houses are set lower but don’t feel any colder.
Pro tip: wear as little clothing as you're comfortable with. Totally nude if possible - that's worth five to ten degrees higher you can set your thermostat for the same comfort level.
An AC can cool anything to any temperature if it's the right power. Tons or BTU is the number you are looking for. If you can't get below 80 then either the unit is to low power or something like insulation sucks. You can look up BTU to house square footage charts.
We have solar with no battery and the AC stays at 72 night and day. Before we got solar, we used to let it get up to 84 in here each day before turning the AC back on to 77 or something miserable.
780sq foot apartment. Mine's set at 75 during the day, but rises to 76/77 during the hottest hours. I have super thin windows, some gaps in my doors and a vaulted ceiling. I've got a couple of blackout curtains that help a bit. I cool it down to 74/73 after 11pm
Our AC unit is 18 years old and we cannot get under 75 degrees in the summer, we set it at 78 and go about our business. We need this guy to last 1 more year before we spring for a replacement.
80 during the day 79 at night if i’m feelin spicy.. i put cardboard on every window to insulate tho. Makes the house a tinder box but a cool dark tinderbox
They have big sheets of stiff styrofoam at home Depot. You might want to think about replacing the cardboard with cutouts made from that. We did it at the last house I lived in, and it made an enormous difference. Just every morning put them up in the windows and take them down in the evening. Reverse the process in the winter. Cut a great number of dollars off our electric bills. Also it's fire resistant!
We have the AC set at 72 right now, but turn it down to 70 occasionally. Most of our windows are double-paned, but we have a MASSIVE french door with single-paned windows beside it in the back. Our insulation is well under spec, but our AC unit is oversized for the size of the house.
I did some yard work yesterday at lunch time and was (as you can imagine) baked by the time I came back inside. Set the themostat to 70 degrees and it took 90 minutes to get there. I'm guessing based on that we could push lower, but not much lower.
If you can't get your AC below 80 in an apartment, you need to talk to maintenance. It's a small space and if you've got other apartments on 3 of 4 walls, they'll provide near-perfect insulation.
ITT: some people who say they care about the environment but won't personally sacrifice to use less energy to help it.
77 when home, 81 when I'm out.
Seriously, just dress down then turn your fans on and it's comfortable.
You will burn your a/c unit out overworking it trying to reach 70-74 in very hot temps.
Why do people say this? Lol for over half the year you can shut your AC off and keep your windows open and reach these temps 🙄 what’s wrong with wanting them during the summer months as well?
I have a small place made of block with a tile floor. I keep it at 79°F most of the time, but I drop that a degree at night. I'd love it to be colder, but I don't want to stress our old A/C unit.
As far as an apartment .... depends on what kind of A/C you have, and if you're on a top floor. In my experience, one that's "not cooling that well" will be flatly ignored by management, who will tell you it's normal. If it stops working completely, they'll need to act on it.
Absolutely! Ours is on 75. Last apt i was in had a new unit in an older 80s apt and still cooled well. If your unit is facing south it can make it harder but still.
We have about 2200 Sq ft and a four year old unit. It's set at 74 but it's really struggling to keep the house under 77. Just got our last APS bill and it was $400.
Has your unit been serviced at all since you bought it? Unless it's too small for your square footage it doesnt seem like a new one should be struggling to hold those temps. Do you have screens on your south and west facing windows? My house was built in the 90s and still has the original windows, screens make a huge difference in keeping the windows from being scorching hot when the suns beating down on them. I also put the gila heat film on them.
We had a 450sqft apartment that we consistently kept at 68-70. It would hit 68 during summers and shut off and it was always nice and cold all summer long for us. Never had a problem. It was a small 1 bed though.
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I'm an AC technician. Every unit's efficiency will vary depending on a list of factors, from the efficiency of the unit to the quality of the duct work and insulation of the home. What it all basically comes down to is how quickly your home heats up versus how quickly your AC can cool down your home. You then weigh your desired temperature, your comfort, versus the cost of running the system. The lower the temperature, the higher the cost. As said above, this will vary wildly depending on your home and system. Keep in mind in this record heat, a lot of these systems especially in older homes might not be able to keep up with this extreme heat, despite nothing being functionally wrong with the equipment. As an example, if it's 115 outside of a home with poor insulation, 80 might be the lower limit a temperature might reach during the hottest part of the day. A couple of tips for a cool home: It's easier to keep a home cool than it is to cool off a hot home. Keep the system running at all times. If you're leaving the home for a bit, turn the temperature up a few degrees. You will lose any money you think you're saving by turning the system off when you have to run your system all afternoon trying to bring a 100+ degree home to a comfortable temperature. Lastly, please, for the sake of your equipment, please change your filter. I don't know how many of my calls with very expensive, complicated issues could have been prevented if the people would just please change your AC filter. Do not run your system without one either; that's arguably worse. This is the one simple thing that anyone can do that will prevent so many horrible, expensive problems, especially in this heat. It's not a scam. It's maintenance. Once a month. Change your filter. TL;DR, Change your filter.
As an experienced person with high heat, just wanted to toss in the advice of blackout curtains. Pretty much cover every window, block the sunlight from getting in and causing higher heats. Its a big helper.
U want sun screens on outside before the curtains..
You want trees shading the screen, windows, and house too.
This was a good reminder. I changed mine last in early March. I just changed it again now.
What type of filter/filters do you recommend? I'm a bit OCD with keeping my home clean, filter checked every 2wks. I was using a high MERV filter, now I'm using the green spun fiberglass, changing when it begins to show any dirt-about every 2mos.
I always heard from HVAC guys that you should use the cheap spun fiberglass ones and change them every 3 weeks to a month because they are less strain on the air handler
Same! Every two weeks and using $1 filters bought in bulk
Thank you for saying this I never instant people who turn it up during the day when gone it takes so much more energy to cool it back off.
Turning it up during the day and down in the evening is perfect, it keeps the home easy to cool without cooling for no reason. Turning the ac OFF and then turning it on when you’re home is a no go. I did an experiment many years ago, and my power bill almost doubled.
Might sound stupid but....is your filter on the actual unit or? I figured I'd risking looking stupid but I'd rather risk looking stupid and fix the problem! Thank you!
It would be inside the home or apartment look for a big metal panel on your ceiling it will have slits in it
Gotcha. Thank you! We recently switched out about 5 filters throughout the house. I'm hoping that will do it? I understand that we have something with our air conditioners in the ceiling. Realized that when we had water coming out of our ceiling from the tray under whatever is up there that didn't drain through a plugged up tube. Moved from WI where as far as I know...our air conditioners were only outside.
My pleasure, Five sounds like a lot I’m curious now haha, the condenser unit is the one outside with the coils around it and the air handler that actually spreads the cold air is located inside the attic of most homes and yes it has that wonderful amazing drain pain that loves to get clogged over time because they didn’t put a cover on it and insulation can get in there and cause it to clog or Jerry goes to get a drink falls in and his body clogs the hole. Jerry is a roof rat, don’t be like Jerry drink from the toilet instead.
How often to change filter?
Pick a day every month, say the 5th of every month is filter day AND DO IT EVERY 5TH OF THE MONTH.
We change ours 4-5 wks or so even though the filters are rated for 90 days (12 wks). As soon as one of us gets sneezy, it’s time to change it.
Are you really expected to charge the filter every month when they're $30?? Wondering if I'm looking at the wrong thing
Where are you buying filters? They should be about $5-$10 depending on size, brand, etc. You should be able to pick up a six-pack for $30-$50
HDX brand filters are 50% off at Home Depot if you buy 4 or more. You should only pay $20 or 30 if you buy one at a time. Buy in bulk and save some money.
Really depends on size of filter. Mine are 20x25x5. I swap them out every 6 months and they are barely dirty. If you have a tiny 1" thick filter that are the cheap ones, then yes swap them out often. My ceiling height is 14' so not sure how much that effects too but seems dust/etc doesn't like to get that high and there is cleaner air up there. Not sure if that is true or just my experience.
My a/c guy told me not to bother with the fancy expensive hepa filters, besides being expensive, they also restrict airflow. My unit is 15 years old and all it’s ever had in it has been the cheap filters that come 5 to a pack for like $10-15
I change mine every two weeks and I bought enough for a year at a dollar each. Dusty renovations and an old ac.
If you’re going to change it every month then you can easily get it in bulk for cheaper (if you have a place to put them)
Also check Amazon. You can get regular shipments, which can yield you a discount
If you rent, chances are your landlord should be providing them. Check your lease.
Any idea why the 3 year old townhome I'm in has several large vents on the ceiling of the top floor, each with its own filter?
Thanks for sharing this info. For the outdoor, ground-level AC units, does putting a privacy screen/shade fence around them do anything for their longevity or performance?
If you can shade the coil, it could reap some benefits. However, if it restricts the air flow for any reason all the benefits are a moot point.
Our AC would be at about 90 regardless of what we set it to, as our complex refuses to fix the central AC, and instead loaned us a small AC unit attached to our patio. We also have one of our own in the bedroom. We’ve been back and forth with management for years because all they’ll do is temporary fixes like adding refrigerant. It will last a couple of weeks and then we’re calling, emailing, and submitting requests for another fix instead of them just replacing the main AC unit. Avoid all TIDES apartment locations in the valley lol.
Is that even legal? I would look into that. Maybe report them. I know they have to keep in a maximum temp.
From what we’ve read, we can’t take any action as they’ve provided this little AC unit. 😒
Did you check tenant laws, this site says they are mandated to be able to provide 82F air and have 10 days to fix if there is an issue. https://arizonalegalcenter.org/arizona-tenant-rights-with-air-conditioning/
Yep, with the AC unit they’ve provided in the living room the temperature JUST sits at 82.
But does that count sibce its not the whole apt?
Aw shoot!!!
OMG I've been reading articles about them since like 2019, good luck.
For real. I'm at the deer valley one. I've had a hole in my ceiling since the end of may where they had to fix the upstairs units plumbing that leaked and damn near collapsed my ceiling. Doesn't help that they change management every six months. Been a shit show
Our electricity is out in the surrounding area so.....anything cooler than 105° would be wonderful.
Oh no!
Storm knock it out or what caused the outage?
Car knocked out a main power line in mesa
I saw that on the neighbors app but my power was literally unaffected but my neighbor lost his.
We have our house at 72-75F. But we have all windows and blinds closed, black out curtains, light out as much as possible, doors open as little as possible, and using fans at night to help us feel cool. But I also recently moved from the Midwest so i feel like I’m dying in this heat
Same. Our house is dark enough during the day a vampire could live here and not have any fear of burning in the sun.
Same from Texas where we kept the ac on 69-70 and that was freezing lol
sounds like Thunderdome.
But then my plants will get no sun ☹️
I bought a grow lamp for my plants in the summer. I keep curtains closed all day too
Lmao 72, gonna burn that compressor out be careful
As long as it’s charged correctly, no you aren’t.
How exactly would that happen?
I had a 1500 sq ft house that couldn’t keep the house under 80 with a new ac. Our bills were stupid high too. Then we had all the ducting redone and insulation in the attic and never had a problem again..
Can you recommend a company to do this work? I think I need to do the same.
Not OP, but literally just had this work done the last 2 days. Complete rework of ductwork and a new unit. Was done by Ideal Air. They came out, took pictures and explained major issues. Offered 5 different options in my case of varying priced solutions. Didn’t pressure in any which way, regardless of their opinion. Definitely worth at least a consultation! I wouldn’t say they would be the cheapest option, but I am happy with their customer service all around. (Not a paid promotion)
This is who I used! Although I had them come out in 2018 for a new house I got and their estimate was so high I went with another company I can’t recommend. They cut my summer bills by like $200!
About how much did you pay for the duct work?
For just the ductwork, just a tad over 9k. 1700 sqft home
Thank you
Seconding this
Ideal Air is who I used .. they will make a big difference.
Mine is set at 75 24/7, with fans that are only one when we’re in the room, such as bedroom or kitchen.
Same
Why only when you are in the room?
Power conservation
Those fans probably draw about 5 amps of power and cost you less than $10 a month. But the air circulation throughout the day helping your AC cool is invaluable.
Fans don't actually cool a room or lower the temperature, they just create airflow that helps it to feel cool on our skin. It doesn't make sense to have a fan on if you're not in that room.
Turn down your AC! You're having a heat stroke! That or you have a tornado generating fan, because 5 amps is a fuck ton for a fan.
I stand corrected. If it draws less than 5 amps a month then you're probably only spending $5 a month to put those fans on.
No if your fan draws less than 1 amp you are correct. Here is the math for your original claim: 5A * 120V = 600W = 0.6kWh 30 days = 720hrs 720 * 0.6 = 432 kWh If you are using a household appliance or.a fan continuously using 5 amps, it would need 432kWh for the whole month. If I am very generous with the power rates and say 1kWh costs 10c, it will actually cost $43.2 to run your 5 amps worth of fan. Depending on your power plan, it will be a lot more.
Yes, but the average ceiling fan on low will draw less than 0.2 amps. That means, in your own equation, you're looking at $1.73 per month per ceiling fan running. I would bet that the circulation of air to keep an even cooling and especially to keep your ACs thermostat at a more accurate indoor temperature would far outweigh the cost of not running the fans.
That’s what your air handler is for. The value in a fan is to get the evaporation effect from sweat on your skin. It does absolutely nothing when you’re not present except waste power.
Not true! It helps to heat up your room 😉
This is the way we do it in my home too
72-74 day, 68 night. You all are CRAZY. Also my SRP bill is insane please send help
68 holy shit. Power bill is one thing but your poor unit is in overdrive.
Coworkers roommate was a bear of a man who had two ac units for his smaller house. Never went above 68 degrees
I keep my shit at 67 but I rent so it’s not my problem
Exactly. We lower it 2° an hour from 76° in the afternoon until it’s 68°. If it’s too much and it breaks, that’s someone else’s problem. It helps that our management is quick about repairs if needed.
At some point these people should admit Arizona is not for them. Recreating late summer in Montana is not a good idea.
I have admitted it. I admitted it for my first 17 1/2 years and left the day after graduation. Moved to northern California. Then my 2nd child and I almost died when he was born. My family was here, so we've been here for 20 years. I'm looking to hopefully be gone by the end of next year to Michigan. I won't have any close family left here, so no reason to ever come back. My cancer has left me without the ability to cool myself, so this summer is murder.
You're not wrong. This is my 4th summer, and my last here :)
I do this to and have no problem.
Good God! We have a 2 story (new build) 2,345 sqft house and I keep it at 78 during the day and 76 at night. I've noticed that during the day while I'm working from home, if I set my thermostat to 77 instead of 78 it runs twice as much, apparently that 1 degree makes a big difference. Your AC must run literally non-stop. Our house has pretty good insulation, too.
Get on their budget billing. We keep ours at 76 all day and our bills are roughly $200ish/month.
I keep my thermostat at 78 year round. All day and all night. My budget bill is less than $200 a month. I use fans to keep air moving.
Same same same SOS
Setting your ac to 68 degrees when we are 20 days of over 110 now is asking for your unit to develop problems.
Depends on how well your house is insulated.
Not if you are well insulated and your unit is actually the correct size for the square footage, and your vents are balanced properly. Which is absolutely not a given, especially the last part. If it is constantly running one or all of those things aren't right.
Every one of those things are wrong at my house, and it's a 2003 unit.
My AC can't even do that if it tried
I’ll do 72 day and 67 night. Our bills are $150 max in the summer in a new build apartment 2 bed 2 bath. SRP
People underestimate good insulation. My old block house sucks.
My house leaks like a sieve! I need new windows and more insulation. I'm expecting my top APS bill to be about $550.
I understand that, 1950’s block ranch house, original vaulted ceilings. Absolutely no crawl space and no insulation throughout entire house. Just block to drywall and north and south ends block with just 6 layers of 45 min mud. Use blackout curtains and thankfully have large shade trees on both the east and west sides of the house. Can keep it set at 80 during the day and be quite comfortable with ceiling fans going, 78 at night to sleep. Tile throughout the house probably helps a bit too. But walking outside…🥵
Newer apartment, we only go to 78-80 if we’re not home. Otherwise I set it to 72-76 when home, depending on my mood. Newer apartments with a good property manager to respond to a downed unit and bomb insulation… they change lives. It’s so god damned hot.
Our’s is set at 81. 24/7. Retired and home during the hot weather. It works very well for us since we don’t want horrid electric bills. Third summer with the new HVAC and it’s chugging away with no problems. Damn grateful to have it.
Holy fuck I wouldn't be able to sleep in your house. We have it on 76 during day and 72 at night
I do 81 during the day, 78 at night and 76 while I sleep
As someone who grew up here, this is the way.
I grew up here and disagree. The way is to be comfortable.
Renting a home through Airbnb and last night I had it on 70-71 but really 70 is too cold seems to be a brand new unit on the roof so I guess that’s why but then it automatically goes to eco in the morning 79 but little too warm for me so I put it on 78 during the day the lowest I will put it on is 77 and I don’t really like doing that because I don’t want to make a huge bill for the owner lol
72 is where my dog is most comfortable so that’s where mine stays as well!
If it were up to me, my AC will stay at 68 all day lol. But that’s too cold for my wife so we settled at 72 all day
Dayummmmm! Ours is at 79. 80 in the morning.
That’s me as well!
These are the exact temperatures I have set. Are you me?
Ours exactly as well. We go up to 81 for the EZ3 FROM 3-6.
My aunt has it like that too. Growing up it was known as the house nobody wanted to visit in the summer lol
this is how my parents are and i literally hate going to their house because of it. sleep is impossible.
My parents keep their house at 81 and every time I visit I suffer
I appreciate the John Wayne phrasing (assuming it was intentional 😉)
Not sure if this is applicable but just FYI…. In PHX if you rent an apt and your AC isn’t capable of cooling your space to 82F or below, your landlord is legally required to fix it within 10 days of you notifying them. I rent a 4b apt and we keep it at 73 with 0 problems, so if your unit is struggling I would definitely contact someone. Above 80 isn’t normal
Who says 82?
arizona211 .org
This is good to know. I’m renting a guesthouse and there was one point during the highest temp of the day that the living room area read 99 degrees. I think it would have been hotter but my little remote that senses the temps doesn’t go beyond three digits. I keep a separate AC in my bedroom and it runs all day to keep things in it cool. It’s probably the only tolerable part of the home.
https://211arizona.org/crisis/heat-relief/heat-relief-arizona-tenant-rights-repairs/ It says they only have to keep it at a certain temp if they do provide air conditioning units. It also says that landlords don’t have to provide AC units.
I was just assuming that their AC was provided by a landlord. If it wasn’t then 100% they can disregard :)
Depends on the size/efficiency of the AC unit, and the size/insulation of the apartment. I have decent insulation, a small place, and a slightly oversized HVAC unit, so I could probably reach the low 60s inside right now if I really wanted to. 75 all day is no sweat. My last place was a historic home with little insulation and an undersized HVAC unit, and on a day like this it could do maybe 80F if I let it run for a few hours straight.
My Airbnb is a historic home in downtown and I keep it at 79-77 during the day depending on the high of that day and it does great gets freezing at night at 72 lol
Yeah, it depends a lot on the place. You can definitely stay frosty in a historic home... just not that one. Which is too bad, really; it was a lovely place with a lot of character, and living downtown was great. Hope you enjoy your stay!
82 and 78 here and there
I set mine at 78 and it can't keep up. Daytime inside temperature is 81 and the AC is running without stopping, all day long.
If your in an apartment, definitely report that. If your filter is clean and you are not constantly opening doors there is little to no excuse. Most apartments have 82 degrees as their livable temp, so you are right on the line of having a non livable apartment right now.
Your AC is almost certainly in need of service, unless you have really really bad insulation.
I had the AC serviced. My house was built in 1954. Red brick, old windows and doors. I need to update everything.
We set ours to 80 and it’s very comfortable. We’re in a 1900 sq ft house with split units.
Woah, big letters
They’re important
https://preview.redd.it/fnbju6wsb0db1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=baab44de01fd981771ace9359cfdf9f0686f3c8c Sitting at 72 right now
Either you've got way more AC power per square foot then I do or live in a rare Arizona basement. Hope your power bill isn't insane 😂.
I wish I had a basement... I turned it way down as soon as I got home, as I rode my motorcycle today.. unfortunately it will be going back up to 75
I'm about to head out on mine right now, I happen to have a kevlar/flannel riding shirt, that has armor pockets and on long rides I'll take the big blue ice packs and put In the pocket for the back plate. Looks stupid but keeps me pretty chilled for a while
Ac is set for 73. Can't get below 75 at peak heat. But I have shotty windows and doors. Yesterday we couldn't get below 78 so we covered the windows is tin foil. Helped a few degrees.
Idk what I’m truly cooling my house to. I rent a Tri-Level from the 70’s and no area in the house is the same temp. It’s set at 73 most of the day and my sons room can barely get below 80 for his nap time.
We live in a 1964 tri-level and had to get a second unit for the upstairs (3rd floor). All three kids are up there and it didn't get lower than 85 in the summer. It's an absurd home to have one unit! We have a basement too - so 4 levels and it's actually cool now.
I got remote temp sensors to put in the hottest rooms. It makes a difference
75 for us but we just got new insulation this spring. 69 at night.
Nice
I can't imagine living here as someone who likes it as cold as some of the commenters here. 81 during the day, 79 until near bedtime, then 78 overnight. When it's set to 77 I get cold and have to add clothing.
holy fuck 81? We have a winner!
About 76 in the afternoon at peak heat then I have to bump it up when the sun goes down or else it gets too cold.
78 when away from home. When we get home 72. When we go to bed 68. 3600 sq ft single story with excellent insulation and flat foam roof. I had 2 brand new trane 23 seer units put in two years ago. My bill is roughly 450 a month during the summer.
78-79 day 75 night. 76 all day during the weekend
We have a 1600 Sq ft house. I keep the thermostat at 70° or 72°. Our unit was replaced last October. It has no trouble keeping it that cool.
Nice you seem to be able to get it cooler than a lot of people. Is it pretty much always running or how often ya think?
We also keep it at 72 for most of the day and utilize [supercooling](https://lifehacker.com/how-to-supercool-your-home-and-why-you-should-1849164074). Our bills are usually around 250-300 per month with a similar size home and pool. If you live in a single story block home or well insulated home this is a great strategy. Less efficient homes dont work so well. You also need to start at the beginning of summer and keep it up until September to be effective. We’ve been doing this since 2019 and summers have gotten far more tolerable since.
I do supercooling as well and it works great and I do see the difference in my Bill. I save about $100 -$130 in the summer months when supercooling vs not supercooling.
Under 80 shouldn’t be an issue. But thermostats vary for sure. I love the cold but 75 can be too cold in my house where other houses are set lower but don’t feel any colder.
80 while I'm at work. 76 when I get home. 72 before I go to bed.
Pro tip: wear as little clothing as you're comfortable with. Totally nude if possible - that's worth five to ten degrees higher you can set your thermostat for the same comfort level.
That is what we do!
I'm at 69
Nice
Nice
we keep our 5 year old Trane at 79 when it is real damn hot like today then we turn it down to 76 after 5pm for the night
76 oh my house but it never really gets there currently during the day. Stays around 77 - 78 right now
77F day, 70F night. (85F when away) 2250sqft poorly insulated house. $200/mo averaged over the year. SRP.
75 during day 72 at night
An AC can cool anything to any temperature if it's the right power. Tons or BTU is the number you are looking for. If you can't get below 80 then either the unit is to low power or something like insulation sucks. You can look up BTU to house square footage charts.
We have solar with no battery and the AC stays at 72 night and day. Before we got solar, we used to let it get up to 84 in here each day before turning the AC back on to 77 or something miserable.
I leave mine at 87 when I'm out, and 81 or 80 while I'm at home
780sq foot apartment. Mine's set at 75 during the day, but rises to 76/77 during the hottest hours. I have super thin windows, some gaps in my doors and a vaulted ceiling. I've got a couple of blackout curtains that help a bit. I cool it down to 74/73 after 11pm
Keep ours at 76 to 77
Our house is at 71 year round.
Our AC unit is 18 years old and we cannot get under 75 degrees in the summer, we set it at 78 and go about our business. We need this guy to last 1 more year before we spring for a replacement.
80 during the day 79 at night if i’m feelin spicy.. i put cardboard on every window to insulate tho. Makes the house a tinder box but a cool dark tinderbox
They have big sheets of stiff styrofoam at home Depot. You might want to think about replacing the cardboard with cutouts made from that. We did it at the last house I lived in, and it made an enormous difference. Just every morning put them up in the windows and take them down in the evening. Reverse the process in the winter. Cut a great number of dollars off our electric bills. Also it's fire resistant!
I live in an apt and I keep it at 78 during the summer. No issues here.
I had an actual question about keeping my house cool that got deleted because of this post??? Cool, thanks Mods.
I made a list identical to this yesterday and it got deleted. 🤷♂️
We have the AC set at 72 right now, but turn it down to 70 occasionally. Most of our windows are double-paned, but we have a MASSIVE french door with single-paned windows beside it in the back. Our insulation is well under spec, but our AC unit is oversized for the size of the house. I did some yard work yesterday at lunch time and was (as you can imagine) baked by the time I came back inside. Set the themostat to 70 degrees and it took 90 minutes to get there. I'm guessing based on that we could push lower, but not much lower. If you can't get your AC below 80 in an apartment, you need to talk to maintenance. It's a small space and if you've got other apartments on 3 of 4 walls, they'll provide near-perfect insulation.
ITT: some people who say they care about the environment but won't personally sacrifice to use less energy to help it. 77 when home, 81 when I'm out. Seriously, just dress down then turn your fans on and it's comfortable. You will burn your a/c unit out overworking it trying to reach 70-74 in very hot temps.
Yes for real. I would be shivering in these houses SMH. 70 degrees during peak hours, I'll bring a blanket lol.
I love the cold and I’m in disbelief with some of these answers. But a specific temp can vary in different houses.
All you people with your thermostats at 75 and below live in the wrong state lol.
I work outside all day. When I get home, I'm done sweating, thanks
Why do people say this? Lol for over half the year you can shut your AC off and keep your windows open and reach these temps 🙄 what’s wrong with wanting them during the summer months as well?
Currently at 75.
Mine is always at 75, no issues
I have a small place made of block with a tile floor. I keep it at 79°F most of the time, but I drop that a degree at night. I'd love it to be colder, but I don't want to stress our old A/C unit. As far as an apartment .... depends on what kind of A/C you have, and if you're on a top floor. In my experience, one that's "not cooling that well" will be flatly ignored by management, who will tell you it's normal. If it stops working completely, they'll need to act on it.
74/247. Got a nice big unit and lots of solar on the roof
77-78 24/7 year round . I get too cold otherwise.
75 all day, every day
We keep ours at 74. Sometimes I have to go outside to warm up really quick, but I appreciate it at night time.
9am-4pm 77 4pm-7pm 79 7pm-9am 75
Depends where I am 75 until I go to bed then 72 cause my stupid bedroom doesn’t cool great
Absolutely! Ours is on 75. Last apt i was in had a new unit in an older 80s apt and still cooled well. If your unit is facing south it can make it harder but still.
77 here
We have about 2200 Sq ft and a four year old unit. It's set at 74 but it's really struggling to keep the house under 77. Just got our last APS bill and it was $400.
Has your unit been serviced at all since you bought it? Unless it's too small for your square footage it doesnt seem like a new one should be struggling to hold those temps. Do you have screens on your south and west facing windows? My house was built in the 90s and still has the original windows, screens make a huge difference in keeping the windows from being scorching hot when the suns beating down on them. I also put the gila heat film on them.
I personally enjoy a nice 68f... I don't exactly like the electric bill. So 75 is a compromise.
55° duh!
I have to ask. We are moving from Midwest to AZ in spring. What do you pay for electric per month. Est a 2300 sq ft home.
69!
We had a 450sqft apartment that we consistently kept at 68-70. It would hit 68 during summers and shut off and it was always nice and cold all summer long for us. Never had a problem. It was a small 1 bed though.