AC Use, sounds weird, but works!

[katlnhats]

Hi,

Awhile back my cousin told me to leave my air conditioner on, ALL the time in the hotter months, whether I was home or at work. (that was when I was working...) He said it would lower my electric bill cuz the AC wouldn't have to work so hard to cool off the space that had gotten hot.
He tested it for a few months himself. I figured I'd test it too - so for a few months, I left it on. And my electric bill was lower than when I'd been turning it off when I wasn't home. That was a few years back - but I still do it now and it still works - thought with the increased electric rates, "anything" helps!

Kat

[verwon]

Yes, that does make sense, we always end up having to leave it on when we leave the house anyway, our brat boys demand it. They are completely spoiled, so they always get what they want, in the winter when we leave my electric blanket is always left on for them, too, I just leave it on low. It is one of those sensor blankets so it turns on when one of them gets up there and flops down.

[twin66]

We bought an older home almost 2 years ago, and it had a digital thermostat for our heating/air. It really helps that I can set the temps for heat (gas) in winter at a lower temp for the times when we are gone during day, and to warm up a few degrees when we get home. The air condition is same way, but my two teen sons (13 and 1 need the air, so I keep it at about 72/74 degrees depending on weather. Now, if the temps are cooler outside I turn it off altogether. We just put a ceiling fan in younger son's room and bought an oscalatiing fan that adjusts to about 4ft tall for older son's room. His room is always the hottest or coldest.
twin66, mom of 2 teens, Lex.Ky

[katlnhats]

Hi,

Well, it's gotten hot here in CT, and we've had our A/C and two fans, one's a ceiling fan going non-stop for over a month and I've been waiting to see how bad the electric bill would be. They did a reading for 32 days, last month was for 30, and I still cook as much, make soap and do everything else as usual, and the bill was still under $100 - just a little more than the month before. Plus, our hot water is electric so w/the hotter temps, and when you "have" to go out in the heat, there's days when you take a couple or three showers a day.

Kat - happy w/the electric bill for once

[dealdaddy]

another tip or two for saving a bit o' cash on your electric bill...

either use window blinds or curtains and keep them closed for the hottest parts of the day

using ceiling fans in most rooms at the least makes it feel cooler, so you can get by with a couple less degrees lower temps on the thermostat

make sure your outside ac coils are CLEAN. if they can't flow the air it will take longer to cool down

change your air filter , this will also increase air flow helping your ac unit to do it's job more effectively.

lastly, on your blower/heater unit inside, their is a thing called an a- coil
so named because it is shaped like and "a". this is just like the outer coils.
if kept clean the air will flow better and your ac will run at top effeciency.

the last one might be best to leave to a pro, but the others are easily done yourself.

if you can afford more insulation in your attic adding another 6-8 inches will make a world of difference also

[katlnhats]

Hi!
Thanks for the extra tips We do the cleaning, and I know it helps as the A/C even sounds better after a good cleaning (unless I'm imagining that part!), but it truly runs good, and we don't have the option of doing anything ceiling fan-wise or attic insulation as we rent, but it's a great idea for those who are home-owners. We do have one ceiling fan, that's only turned off to clean and another stand-up fan, that's turned off for the same reason.
The blinds are a problem, we keep all of them closed but one, the one the cats (spoiled things, but they're like our kids) look out of - I guess they get bored with us!

Kat

[HardworkingMom]

I did not know that. Thanks for sharing!

HWM