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The summer months can be brutal for many people who do not handle hot weather well. There is not much that feels better than walking into a crisp and chilled home after a hot day. It is ideal to have a cool home to relax in but the recommended temperature to keep your thermometer set at may surprise you.
During the summer months, you should set your thermostat at around 78 degrees. This temperature will not only help keep your bill under control but keep your AC unit running smoothly. Ten degrees cooler can drastically increase the price of your electric bill and add stress to your AC unit.
While this may seem way too warm for some people there are plenty of ways to help keep your home feeling cool. Read on to find out tips and tricks for keeping a cool home over the summer months while keeping your AC unit running smoothly.
Setting Your Thermostat to a Higher Temperature
A good rule of thumb when setting your thermostat is not to exceed 15-20 degrees cooler than the outdoor weather. If you live in areas where it is over 100 degrees a warmer 78 does not seem as bad. If your summer months are in the 80s you may be able to get away with the lower 70s.
Your AC unit should not run nonstop. If your unit is constantly pumping out cold air for hours at a time your AC unit may overheat or freeze up. If either of these happens, you will be left without any air at all and have a decent bill for repair.
How to Keep Your Home and Body Cool All Summer Long
Keeping your home comfortable is everyone’s goal no matter what the season is. You do not want to sweat in your own home, but the higher electric bills are also not ideal. Thankfully there are a lot of things you can do to help keep your home feeling cool such as:
- Dress for the weather
- Turn on ceiling fans to help circulate the air
- Buy free-standing fans to help you to feel cool, still, air can feel stuffy and warm but when you turn a fan on it makes the air have a chill in it
- Stay hydrated, drink cold drinks
- Avoid using hot appliances during peak summer hours, mid-summer day is not the time to bake
- Taking a warm shower can make your body warmer than the inside air which makes it feel cooler
These simple steps can not only help you feel more comfortable in your home but also help maintain the life of your AC unit.
Should a Unit Be Allowed to Run All Day?
Your Ac unit will last longer if it is steadily turned on. If you are always turning the whole system off and on it’s hard on the AC unit. This does not mean it should constantly pump out cold air 24/7 but allowing it to be turned on is better. This allows your AC unit to kick on when it needs to and stop when it reaches the right temperature.
If you are always trying off the whole AC unit, it won’t allow it to turn off like it is built to do. It may overheat or freeze over when this happens it needs to go through certain cycles. If you shut down your AC unit, it will also need to play catch up to cool your home after it is turned back on. Your AC unit could kick into overdrive if this is to happen.
Where Should a Thermostat Be Placed?
The thermostat may seem like an afterthought, but they are very important and so is where they are placed. It doesn’t matter what brand you buy there are certain places where they can go and should not go such as:
- Above or below an air duct
- Close to an oven or other heat source
- In a bathroom
- In a kitchen
- In direct sunlight
- Near a door
- Near a window
Any of these places can cause the thermostat to get a false reading. It may think the temperature is much higher than it is if it’s left in the sun which will cause your AC unit it is keeping running. If you keep it close to an air duct, every time the air kicks on it will quickly lower the temperature near the thermostat and make the AC unit turn off.
Setting Your AC Unit to the Right Temperature
Finding the right temperature that not only meets your comfort needs but doesn’t run down your AC unit is quite easy. Keeping your AC unit set around 78 can help reduce your bill while still keeping you comfortable depending on where you live. A New York summer will be much different than a Texas summer.
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