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

[ziggy29]

I'm not a fan of AC either.

You would be if it were 105 there as it is here now...

 

[W2R]

75-78 when I am home, depending on my activity level. 80 if I am really lazy. I use the ceiling fan in the late afternoon if I am home.

85 when I am out during the day.

Sometimes down to 74 at bedtime. That one degree below 75 is such a luxury.

I got home today about 3 hours ago (around 1:30 PM), and moved my thermostat from 85 to 75.

It is now 86 inside my house. (Where's the "sweating profusely" emoticon? Just kidding.) It is 92 outside. Apparently the A/C is working beautifully but I have to get someone to fix the attic fan, to lower the temperature up there. I just haven't got around to it yet. I am perfectly comfortable with the ceiling fan on, as long as I am not doing any physically grueling work.

 

[ziggy29]

It is now 86 inside my house. (Where's the "sweating profusely" emoticon? ) It is 92 outside. Apparently the A/C is working beautifully but I have to get someone to fix the attic fan, to lower the temperature up there.

The handyman/carpenter we used for some home repairs not long ago mentioned that his usual rate was $30 per hour for carpentry work. But from May to October he raised his rate to $100 an hour for non-emergency work in the attic as a way to strongly discourage people from scheduling attic work that time of year.

 

[W2R]

The handyman/carpenter we used for some home repairs not long ago mentioned that his usual rate was $30 per hour for carpentry work. But from May to October he raised his rate to $100 an hour for non-emergency work in the attic as a way to strongly discourage people from scheduling attic work that time of year.

That's why I am waiting. Plus, it would just be inhumane to ask anyone to work up there in this heat. I have had this attic fan problem going for several years, so it isn't an emergency (and doesn't really bother me that much). I do need to get it fixed if I ever plan to sell this place, though. So, it is on my list for wintertime repairs.

 

[REWahoo]

I got home today about 3 hours ago (around 1:30 PM), and moved my thermostat from 85 to 75.

It is now 86 inside my house. (Where's the "sweating profusely" emoticon? Just kidding.) It is 92 outside. Apparently the A/C is working beautifully but I have to get someone to fix the attic fan, to lower the temperature up there. I just haven't got around to it yet.

Something doesn't sound right with this. Are you saying your attic is so hot the heat is overpowering the ability of your A/C to cool down the duct work?

 

[W2R]

Something doesn't sound right with this. Are you saying your attic is so hot the heat is overpowering the ability of your A/C to cool down the duct work?

The A/C works wonderfully at night, when it's cooler, or during the cooler days of early and late summer - - it's just when the heat is brutal that it fails to cool.

The A/C guys who tested it earlier in the year, said that the gradient was what it should be so the A/C is cooling, but that the problem is that it's so much hotter in the attic during peak summer heat than it is outside.

The fan that lets that hot air out from the attic through the roof, cooling the attic, isn't working. Frank thinks it might be the fan's thermostat that starts the fan, or maybe it has an on/off switch that needs to be hooked up somehow, but then again it might be the fan itself I suppose.

I don't know anything other than what they told me. I need to have it fixed, so that we could sell when we get around to it. Nobody wants to buy a house that won't cool in the summer. I just made a list of such repair jobs that I want to get done before putting the house on the market.

It's still 86 in here, but that will go down to 75 by 8-9 PM.

 

[REWahoo]

It's still 86 in here, but that will go down to 75 by 8-9 PM.

Sounds like you need to keep your thermostat set at 75 or so until you get the attic ventilation problem solved. Your A/C is probably working so hard to overcome the 10 degree setback in the heat of the day that you're using more electricity than you're saving by going up to 85.

But I'm no engineer so this is just my estimation...

 

[Rustic23]

W2R,
That doesn't sound right. I would thing that there is air leaking somewhere or the unit is not sized right for the space, or the return air is not sized right. In our old house, the AC was running constantly. It was putting out the right temp air. The problem, according to the A/C guy, was the return air slot was too small. We enlarged the area, and presto, the ac began to cool the house. You could feel the increased air flow coming from the ducts. The leak in air ducts is quite common in older homes. It has been around 100 + for at least the last few weeks around here. Our house is kept at 80, where we set it, and the ac appears to run 15 to 30 min out of each hour.

However, you are right, if the attic is not properly ventilated, it will heat up the house. Let us know if fixing the attic fan corrects the problem.

 

[NW-Bound]

When I had my AC replaced a few years ago, it was in spring and it seemed to work fine. Then came summer a few months later, and this new AC did not cool as well as the one it replaced. Something was very wrong!

So, I went up to the attic to inspect. Golly, it was COOL up there. It did not take me long to find out that the installer did such a lousy job that I had TREMENDOUS air leaks at several places. The new AC is an industrial unit that uses 18" duct instead of the usual 15", hence he put in some new duct work.

I could have called the guy back and yelled at him, but since I was already up there, decided to patch it up with duct tape myself. Worked like a charm!

It is difficult to get good work anymore nowadays. You can see now why I like to do things myself. It's not just the money, but the aggravation of dealing with these careless workers and having to fix things up after them.

 

[HFWR]

Sounds like you need to keep your thermostat set at 75 or so until you get the attic ventilation problem solved. Your A/C is probably working so hard to overcome the 10 degree setback in the heat of the day that you're using more electricity than you're saving by going up to 85.

But I'm no engineer so this is just my estimation...

This is why I don't do a drastic setback, except when I'll be gone for a few days.

Even with a new a/c unit, I had trouble keeping cool during the 100+ days, until I installed the radiant barrier. Now, even when it's 105 or so, the a/c can maintain 75 degrees indoors.

 

[travelover]

The fan that lets that hot air out from the attic through the roof, cooling the attic, isn't working. Frank thinks it might be the fan's thermostat that starts the fan, or maybe it has an on/off switch that needs to be hooked up somehow, but then again it might be the fan itself I suppose.

In my house, the ceiling under the attic used to be literally hot to the touch on a summer day. I added an electric vent fan and an additional 6 inches of fiberglass insulation and the house is much cooler even if I don't run the AC.

If it is just the fan thermostat, it is an easy fix.

 

[W2R]

Sounds like you need to keep your thermostat set at 75 or so until you get the attic ventilation problem solved. Your A/C is probably working so hard to overcome the 10 degree setback in the heat of the day that you're using more electricity than you're saving by going up to 85.

I'll keep that in mind. At 75 or 85, it is running constantly during mid-day at this time of year. I know that's hard to understand for you folks sitting in cool, crisp central Texas. So anyway, I'm using plenty of electricity either way.

At some point I will fix the fan and sell this [-]money pit[/-] house, and then it will all be the new owner's problem.

It's down to 85 inside, and a big line of thunderstorms will be barreling through shortly so that should cool things down.

 

[REWahoo]

At some point I will fix the fan and sell this [-]money pit[/-] house, and then it will all be the new owner's problem.

You understand, of course, your house-fix-up/listed-for-sale delay is beginning to resemble Rich's "just one more year" syndrome...

 

[W2R]

You understand, of course, your house-fix-up/listed-for-sale delay is beginning to resemble Rich's "just one more year" syndrome...

Words of wisdom. My moving dilemma involves some inner conflict and ambivalence, and while I wouldn't want to speak for Rich I would speculate that perhaps his "one-more-year" syndrome is similar in those respects.

 

[Katsmeow]

We keep it at about 74 to 76 during the summer. I am happy enough with 76, DH would like 72 so we compromise at around 74 during the day. We have 3 units so the upstairs is on a different setting. We do use programmable thermostats and upstairs (where kids are) we program them to go up when kids are out at school.

I'm happy with 74 but I can feel a substantial difference if it gets a degree or two over my favored temperature. Fed - if you don't feel good over 70 keep it low. Your wife can throw on a long sleeved shirt but taking off your shirt won't help.

Everyone always says this, but as someone often freezing it really doesn't work. That is when the air temperature is cold even if you bundle up you can still be miserable. The cold against the face for example and breathing it in is just miserable.

One reason I don't sleep any more in my mother's house when we visit is that we can't get together on temperature. She won't set the AC below 82 (I'm talking about when it is over 100 outside). During the winter she won't set the heat above 62. I remember the time it was well below freezing (this is not a cold environment) and she wouldn't put the heat above 62. I was so miserable. Now I just stay in a hotel when I visit.

 

[BTravlin]

Just cold enough to keep DW and the kids from pestering me.

 

[NW-Bound]

One reason I don't sleep any more in my mother's house when we visit is that we can't get together on temperature. She won't set the AC below 82 (I'm talking about when it is over 100 outside).

Yes, that would be a problem.

During the winter she won't set the heat above 62.

Is that bad? I set mine at 45.

 

[LOL!]

78 deg downstairs and 79-81 degrees upstairs. Ceiling fans over every bed. Since outside is 100 degrees and about 110% humidity in the day and rarely below 80 deg at night, I would freeze if the house temp was much below 78. A/C has cost about $200 in electricity in June & July. I suspect August bill will be $220.

 

[samclem]

I could have called the guy back and yelled at him, but since I was already up there, decided to patch it up with duct tape myself. Worked like a charm!

There's duct tape and then there's tape actually designed for real HVAC ducts. Hopefully you used the "good stuff" from the HVAC section of the hardware store. Common fix-everything "duct tape" has adhesive and backing that won't stand up to the heat of an attic or hot duct, and gets brittle in a few years regardless. I'm a big fan of the silver aluminum/mylar tape--it sticks well and is designed to last for a very long time in HVAC use.

+1 on your observation about most home repair professionals. It's a little like investing for retirement--If you just blindly turn it over to a "pro," there's absolutely no gaurantee that he/she is competent and is puting your interest first. So you have to do research yourself to figure out what "right" looks like. By the time you've done that, often it's easier, cheaper, and even less trouble to do it yourself.

 

[Ronnieboy]

We keep it at 72 degrees. If it gets down to <69 at night we will open the windows. Last month it was was run 27/7 so my electric bill was almost $600
We like to keep it cool at night to sleep better.
The upstairs is on another a/c unit and we keep it at 75, the kids don't need to be as comfortable till they pay the electric bill

Time for a windmill?!?

 

[samclem]

I had no idea that I was keeping the house so much cooler (73 deg F) than the ER community average. I don't think I'd be enjoying myself if the house was 80 degrees all day. In the summer (most days over 90 degrees), our electric bill is about $150 per month. If $100 of that is for the AC, then that's about $3 per day. Dang, that's a bargain.

The house was built in 1959, and though I've upgraded the windows and attic insulation, it's certainly no Energy Star showcase home. Our electricity costs just about the national average (11 cents /kwh).

 

[donheff]

W2R: it sounds like something is wrong with your A/C. If it ever cooled you down it still should, hot attic or not. I started having a problem that sounds like yours and the A/C guy cleaned the coils to no effect. He told me the unit was putting out all it could. He said I would need to replace it but recommended that I try to tough it out for a couple of years until good non-freon units came on line. I used window units in the bedroom during 90+ weather after that and the A/C was OK in the 80s. The next year I tried a different A/C guy to get a second opinion. He concluded the same thing. Last year (3rd year) I called in an A/C outfit that was recommended for installing a replacement roof unit. They sent out a top guy to size things. He checked out the existing unit carefully and concluded that the other two outfits had missed some sort of internal coils (mine is an unusual compact unit with the compressor and evaporator in the same box all on the roof). Whatever it was, he cleaned it up and the unit has been working fine ever since. We had the worst summer I can remember this year and the A/C was great.

 

[W2R]

W2R: it sounds like something is wrong with your A/C. If it ever cooled you down it still should, hot attic or not. I started having a problem that sounds like yours and the A/C guy cleaned the coils to no effect. He told me the unit was putting out all it could. He said I would need to replace it but recommended that I try to tough it out for a couple of years until good non-freon units came on line. I used window units in the bedroom during 90+ weather after that and the A/C was OK in the 80s. The next year I tried a different A/C guy to get a second opinion. He concluded the same thing. Last year (3rd year) I called in an A/C outfit that was recommended for installing a replacement roof unit. They sent out a top guy to size things. He checked out the existing unit carefully and concluded that the other two outfits had missed some sort of internal coils (mine is an unusual compact unit with the compressor and evaporator in the same box all on the roof). Whatever it was, he cleaned it up and the unit has been working fine ever since. We had the worst summer I can remember this year and the A/C was great.

donheff, maybe it's the climate difference but down here failing attic fans cause this sort of thing to happen all the time. At least, just about every single person in my area to whom I have mentioned this story can recall a similar story from their own past. The A/C works beautifully when it is only moderately hot (in June, for example), and it is only in the worst part of summer that the problem arises. So anyway, I am not going to get too worried about it.

My house was frosty cool last night as it is every night. We have gone for weeks with the outside temperature above 80 at night this summer. Last night I turned it down to 71 (which it reached quickly), just for fun.

The A/C problem you describe having had does not sound at all similar to an attic fan problem, I agree. Glad you found someone who could properly clean your A/C coils!

 

[FUEGO]

If $100 of that is for the AC, then that's about $3 per day. Dang, that's a bargain.

I have come to the same conclusion regarding heating and cooling costs. It all comes down to what do you value. Comfort is very important to me (and my family). Our costs may be closer to $4 a day for heating and cooling in the absolute worst 2 months of the year and probably half that the remaining months (with a couple months at zero).

A few dollars a day is a small price to pay for comfort. I could jack the temp up by five degrees and save around a buck per day in the hottest part of the year. But it isn't worth it to be uncomfortable most of the time.

I just came up with a thought experiment regarding this situation. Imagine going to a hotel. Say they charge $60 a day for a room with no A/C (and it is located in a hot environment). Would you pay an extra $4 a day to have A/C that makes the room very comfortable? I would.

 

[W2R]

We keep it at 72 degrees. If it gets down to <69 at night we will open the windows. Last month it was was run 27/7 so my electric bill was almost $600
We like to keep it cool at night to sleep better.
The upstairs is on another a/c unit and we keep it at 75, the kids don't need to be as comfortable till they pay the electric bill

Time for a windmill?!?

Are your A/C units old? New A/C units are unbelievably efficient, and I think you might even get a tax break for upgrading as well. To me, a $600/month electric bill is simply outrageous.