How cold do you keep the A/C in your home during summer?

[ronocnikral]

we set our A/C sometime in april to 79. when we leave it goes up about 5 degrees. it cranks about 75% of the day. growing up in minnesota where we just had to take advantage of the cool nights, i enjoy it cold. but, it's not in the cards here in houston. a box fan at the foot of our bed and a ceiling fan keep us somewhat comfortable at night. can't wait to put the a/c to rest for the year....

 

[Moemg]

I have mine set at 75 during the worst months July & August . Other hot months it's at 76 -78 . The only time we change it is if we are traveling then it's at 80 .

 

[KB]

78 degrees here. Occasionally down to 77 if I feel hot at 78. I do use ceiling fans too. I have a whole house fan that I use at night and in the morning to cool the house. I usually don't need the A/C until 4 pm or afterwards because my house is well insulated.

 

[Lakedog]

Although my pup would prefer much cooler temps year round, 78 with ceiling fans is the norm for summer months. Living on the lake makes the hot Alabama weather a little more enjoyable.

 

[ziggy29]

I should add that if it feels particularly humid inside I may have to take it down as low as 72 on occasion to wring out the humidity. But usually it's at 78.

 

[fisherman]

76 during the day and 72 at night. 85 if we are gone more than a day. Ceiling fans really help.

 

[jimnjana]

We keep the house at 78. Now the bedroom, we added a window ac unit for the summer months. Wife keeps that set at 69. Talk about a frigid bedroom atmosphere...

 

[hankster]

No AC in the home we rent. It does have a whole house fan that we run at night to pull in the cooler night air, usually down in the 50 deg. F range. We close the windows in the morning and it usually stays below 75 deg. F until the next night.

.....

Do I detect a bit of climate envy?

 

[FUEGO]

76 day; 75 night. 2 level house and we all sleep upstairs. When not home during the work week, 80. DW complains of freezing all the time. She is from a tropical environment (SE Asia), so I can't fault her too much, except that the last time she lived there was over 25 years ago.

 

[Retire2013]

73 at night so I can sleep better, 74 when I am home during the day and mid 80s when I am not home. I live right in the suburbs of Wash DC where it has been in the high 90s, very hot and humid, this summer! AC is the one area where I splurge.

 

[FinanceDude]

72 degrees year-round...........

 

[73ss454]

Always 75 except 80 when traveling.

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Don't really need A/C up here in Calgary. There are a handful of days where it gets unbearably hot (90+ F) and even then it cools down pretty considerably at night since we are so close to The Rockies.

If it does get too warm to sleep at night, we sleep in the developed basement which is about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than upstairs.

When we lived in Tulsa for a couple of years the summers were miserable. I kept the A/C set at about 68F since I'm a Canuck and I like it chilly . Our A/C bills were huge back then.

 

[Rustic23]

80 during the day, 74 at night.

 

[saluki9]

Until the windows frost up

 

[CuppaJoe]

Do I detect a bit of climate envy?

We'll be chewing ice cubes in Sept. when it hits 105 with only fans and it takes two days before the fog comes in. Miserable climate!

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Anyone operate with a humidistat? I have one tied into the A/C system that allows the unit to activate based on humidity alone and not the temperature. It's designed to function if you are away from home for some period of time. I set the humidistat to 65% and the temperature to 90 degrees and the A/C unit operates based on these settings. Basic idea is to eliminate mildew. I never tried living in the house with settings of 65% humidity and maybe 80-81 degrees temperature. I could live like that but would be tough putting up with DW.

 

[bbbamI]

Do I detect a bit of climate envy?

Oh maybe a tad or two...

Right now I'm delighted to report it's only 94 degrees!

 

[Dawg52]

78 keeps it nice a cool. When I leave during the day, I bump it up to 82. Even at 82 it still feels somewhat cool when I return home.

 

[Khan]

80°F when humid.
85°F when dry.
Didn't have A/C 'til I retired.
Window unit downstairs.
Upstairs bedroom has window fan.

 

[NW-Bound]

The low humidity of the SouthWest means a setting of 78degF is enough to turn "115deg dry heat" into "dry cool". Can't afford to set it any lower than that. Highest bill last year was in the $400 already, and there has been a rate increase this year. Maybe in the $500.

Up in 2nd home in the boonies, I rarely use AC even though temperature sometimes gets to 85. With front door and back sliding doors wide open, the mountain breeze provides enough comfort.

 

[Dancer373]

I live in north Florida and keep the a/c set at 75* with ceiling fans going as well. I tried 78* but just wasn't comfortable.

 

[CoolChange]

80°F when humid.
85°F when dry.
Didn't have A/C 'til I retired.
Window unit downstairs.
Upstairs bedroom has window fan.

Looks like we only have one person who is more cold blooded (or cheaper) than me responding. For me: 82 when home alone; 78 or 80 when SO is home.

I didn't run the AC more than five times a year (when friends or family were visiting) when I lived alone.

 

[Khan]

Looks like we only have one person who is more cold blooded (or cheaper) than me responding. For me: 82 when home alone; 78 or 80 when SO is home.

I didn't run the AC more than five times a year (when friends or family were visiting) when I lived alone.

I really don't like A/C.
I also don't have a clothes dryer machine.
Probably why I could retire on $25K/year.

 

[CoolChange]

I really don't like A/C.
I also don't have a clothes dryer machine.
Probably why I could retire on $25K/year.

I'm not a fan of AC either. But, I currently have too many bad habits to pull off $25K/year: Girlfriend, travel, steak, whisky, beer, wine, among others.

You are probably more content; but, then again, you should be wiser than me: You have almost 20 years more experience with living.