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How hot does it have to get before you turn the air on? - Page 3

post #41 of 67
4/11/08 at 9:02am
Honestly, we are in south FL, and I am hesitant to put the air on. It has been reaching about 83-84 inside the past month or so, and a couple of times I have put it on for a couple of hours only. I do not want to start paying the super high bills yet.

One particularly hot afternoon, the boys and I went in my bedroon (the coolest room in the house) and hung out in my bed and watched TV and played for an hour or so during the hottest part of the day.

When we have the air running full days/ nights in July/ August, our bills run about $300/ month. We cannot go there, yet. So we just get through it.
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post #42 of 67
4/14/08 at 1:07am
I live in Arizona and with all the windows open today my main level was 87 degrees and my upstairs was 89 degrees. Even so, I refused to turn the air on. I am trying to hold out until May before the air gets turned on and doesn't shut off for 4 or 5 months straight
post #43 of 67
4/14/08 at 1:48am
I think I was 20 years old before I realized that people have houses that need AC...it may rain a fair bit here, but the upside is we never need AC. I thought cars had it because they heat like sardine cans and stores had it because they wanted to be extra comfy and also because they had no windows.
post #44 of 67
4/14/08 at 5:00am
We don't use AC., We use fans and open the windows.
post #45 of 67
4/14/08 at 5:06am
If it gets past 72 in the house the air comes on no matter what time of year it is. I cannot handle heat any more.

We are in TN by the way summers are very humid and icky. I have used the a/c off and on all winter.
post #46 of 67
4/14/08 at 9:13am
We don't have AC, and in the summer we sometimes get week-long heatwaves in the 90s. July and August it's often humid and in the mid- to high-80s.

DH installed ceiling fans in some of our rooms, but I don't turn them on unless it's in the 80s and I'm miserable.
post #47 of 67
4/14/08 at 9:25am
No a/c here (Central NY State).

No a/c where I grew up, either (Mid-Michigan)

We run the fans when needed. Our house is well-shaded and generally if we can get the house to cool off overnight and then pull all the shades it stays not-too-bad for much of the day.

We lived for four years in Missouri in a house with no a/c -- its become a matter of principle that we don't need it in NY state!

What did people do before home a/c, anyway? Its not like no one lived in the south or southwest! Not only did they not have a/c but they culturally couldn't run around in tank tops and shorts, either!
post #48 of 67
4/14/08 at 10:10am
Since part of what the AC does is dehumidify, I wonder if turning it off and on actually wastes more energy than keeping a compromise baseline level, since it'll have to work that much harder when you do turn it on.

I turn it on when the temp is 78-80 inside, unless I'm actively cooking/cleaning, then it goes on earlier. With all of our allergies, opening windows and using fans really isn't an option. My home is my safe haven.
post #49 of 67
4/14/08 at 1:37pm
It got to 81 yesterday & wasn't cooling by the time the kids went to bed so we kicked it down to 80 just so the kids could sleep. So we officially have the air 'on', but it is set anywhere between 79-81 over the day/night. We'll see how often it actually goes on.
post #50 of 67
4/14/08 at 8:08pm
degree wise... I'm not sure, but I'll open windows and take off clothing first. I only turn it on if I'm still warm in a tank top and shorts.
post #51 of 67
4/14/08 at 8:15pm
The temp at our house is crazy low all year. Dd is temperature sensitive when it comes to heat and can't stand to be warm in the house. Warm being like 68-70 degrees. Night time is when it's the worst for her, so we keep the heat way low at night during the winter and as cool as possible during the summer.

I don't pay my own utilities or else I'm sure it would be really hard.
post #52 of 67
4/14/08 at 8:21pm
We don't have central air in our house but we do have several window units. I would leave the darn thing off it was up to me. My dh would turn it on today if it was up to him(it's 55 here in Iowa). He also likes to leave a window cracked open all year long so it's nice and chilly in the bedroom. Very annoying and not very energy effecient.
post #53 of 67
4/14/08 at 8:21pm
i have never lived in a house with working are conditioning the town i grew up in usually got past 100 in the summer time. i have pondered buying an air conditioner just for the bedroom just to cool the room off for sleeping but i would rather spend my money on other things. even when i have been in south america in rain forests i never felt a need for an air conditioner except maybe to make sleeping more comfortable.
post #54 of 67
4/14/08 at 8:27pm
I've never had AC, but when its hot out I try to get up early in the morning and open all the doors and windows to let cooler air in, then close them when it starts to get warmer outside. Mind you, I don't know how much cooler it gets at night in the South. I'm kind of jealous right now - hoping for Spring, never mind Summer (we're in Canada.)

anyway. It sounds like your DH is cranky when he gets home from work, like me. Maybe if you turn on the AC for about an hour before he gets home, he won't know the difference!
post #55 of 67
4/15/08 at 9:59am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TattooedMama View Post
I won't turn ours on before July 1st.
Just on principal.
That was our goal last year but we only made it to June 4th because my allergies started raging : So we closed up the house for a few weeks and by then, summer was full on hot & humid.

We weren't quite as ambitious the year before but, since my allergies were much calmer that year, I think we could have made it to July.

Hopefully this year will be less aggravating to my allergies!
post #56 of 67
4/15/08 at 11:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by alegna View Post
Ours stays on a good bit of the time. Definitely when it's less than 80 outside (because it will be over 80 INSIDE)

Our house doesn't have enough windows or positioned correctly to cool it in any way.. And it's two stories, so upstairs gets hot.

I usually keep it set around 80 during the day though. I really need it a touch cooler to sleep.

-Angela
Have you thought of investing in a whole house fan? My inlaws have one in their turn-of-the-century* home and it works pretty good to move the air throughout.

*that would be the LAST century (1900) not this one.
post #57 of 67
4/15/08 at 11:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jocelyndale View Post
Since part of what the AC does is dehumidify, I wonder if turning it off and on actually wastes more energy than keeping a compromise baseline level, since it'll have to work that much harder when you do turn it on.
No. The A/C itself will cycle off and on unless the difference between the outdoor temperature and desired indoor temp is so different that it can't keep up (say Phoenix when it's 115F and people have a/c set at 70F : - those units tend to actually freeze over).

For instance - it's 85F outside, and you have your A/C set for 80F. It will cool to 78F, then shut off until the interior temp reaches 81-82F then turn back on. The A/C does not read the humidity and will not turn on just for humidity.

If one was leaving their home for a prolonged period of time, even if it's 90F outside and you want the inside temperature at 75F, it's better to shut off the A/C while you are gone, and then turn it back on again. At least from a money-saving standpoint. From an "instant comfort" standpoint, you will have to suffer in a hot house for 30 minutes or so.

All of the above is my understanding based on an explanation from an A/C repair guy....who came to service my frozen over A/C. :
post #58 of 67
4/15/08 at 11:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SeekingSerenity View Post
Wow, I wish mine were that low.

I grew up in Las Vegas and though I haven't been there in years, I have never stopped being acclimated to DRY heat. I despise Texas humidity. I do what you do, though, usually only run A/C in the evening or for awhile at night, use a lot of fans and keep the windows open, unless the humidity is so high as to be completely unbearable. (Since I am pregnant, it doesn't have to be THAT high before I am miserable.)
Remember 1989 when the official Phoenix temp hit 122? That was my FIRST summer in Phoenix, and we lived in a house in a trailer park that had only a swamp cooler. It was AWFUL!
post #59 of 67
4/15/08 at 11:25am
We don't have AC. We use fans, which require a relatively small amount of electricity.
post #60 of 67
4/15/08 at 11:35am
We don't have A/C, but we live high in the mountains and it rarely gets much over 82 degrees or so. No humidity either.

We still have snow right now.
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