You have probably thought about this question at one point or another—especially on hot summer days when you come back to a stifling house. The good news is, you can save money while still using your air conditioning. But which is best—do you keep the A/C on during the day, or do you shut it off? Here is what you need to know about the options to decide which is the most energy-efficient for your household.
Should I Leave the Air Conditioning On?
One theory is that letting the house get hot while you are away means the air conditioning uses more energy when you do try to cool the house down in the evening. Instead, stable temperatures mean the A/C unit does not have to work as hard. This isn’t true! If you leave the air conditioning on all day while you are away at work, you are not using your air conditioner efficiently.
Heat likes to travel where it is not—which is why an ice cube melts on the table and a hot potato eventually cools down to room temperature. A cool house is a heat magnet and the air conditioner has to continually work to remove heat over and over. This results in a higher use of energy and can damage your system.
Should I Turn the Air Conditioning Off?
The contrasting theory is that even if the A/C does work harder to cool down a hot house in the evening, it still saves more energy than the A/C running all day. This is absolutely true! Most people don’t know this, but altering the temperature by just one degree makes the A/C work at a difference of 5 percent.
Your air conditioning also runs most efficiently when working at full capacity rather than working at a less powerful speed for shorter periods. So if you are going to be away for several hours, it is best to shut it off. Not only will you see energy savings, but you will also add a couple of years to the lifespan of your system. That said, you don’t want to inch up the thermostat to have the A/C constantly on full blast. Your house will get freezing cold and the cost of running the air conditioning can reach more than two dollars an hour.
Regulating With a Smart Thermostat
If you like coming home to a cool house, consider buying a programmable thermostat. You can get one starting at about $30 and start saving hundreds on your energy expenses in a year. You can set it to turn off when you leave for work and turn back on about 30 minutes before you come home. That way, you still enjoy coming home to a cool house while also using your air conditioning in San Jose, CA in an efficient manner.
Do you have more questions about using the A/C efficiently in San Jose, CA? Call Pelle Heating & Air Conditioning at (669) 219-8957. Or stop by 1045 N 10th St., San Jose, CA 95112.
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