Should I leave my ac on while I’m away?

Should I leave my ac on while I’m away?

As the weather continues to warm, more people will turn on their air conditioners. Although air conditioners are an excellent way to beat the heat and remain comfortable, many homeowners do not know what to do with them when they leave for a long period.

It’s a prevalent assumption that it’s more energy efficient to keep the air conditioner on all day than to switch it off and on when you get home. Turning on the air conditioner when you arrive home and attempting to achieve rapid cooling is inefficient and wasteful of electricity.

Replacement experts for air conditioners often advise turning the thermostat up rather than off while you’re away. This article discusses whether you should leave your HVAC system on standard settings, increase the temperature, or turn it off entirely while you’re away.

Why you may want to switch off your air conditioner?

You may think about shutting off your air conditioning if you’ll be gone from your house for a day or even weeks due to a job or vacation. In an attempt to save money on energy expenditures, homeowners would often switch off their air conditioner. When on a few-day trip, having the air conditioner on helps guarantee that your house is cool when you return.

In the summer, keeping the air conditioner running while you’re gone will help keep the humidity and condensation under control, as well as prevent expansion and contraction caused by excessive heat accumulation, which may distort and deteriorate surfaces such as wooden flooring, door frames, and other structural components.

If you left your air conditioner on all day, it would cycle on and off repeatedly to keep you cool. In contrast, if you only turn it on in the evening, it will run continuously for a few hours rather than repeatedly turning on and off. The total amount of time spent turning on and off eventually adds up.

Advantages of keeping your air conditioner on

You probably already know that your air conditioner does more than simply maintain a pleasant, comfortable temperature in your house. It also removes moisture from the air in your house.

Homes in hotter, more humid areas may have mold and fungal development without an air conditioner operating, among other problems brought on by excessive humidity.

Leaving the air conditioner on while you are gone will enable the interior air supply to be dehumidified, reducing the probability of mold growth while you are away. Therefore, it is safer to keep your air conditioner running.

The additional indoor heat that results from turning off your air conditioning might also be harmful to other living beings. So it is not a good idea to switch off your air conditioning if you have a pet or several indoor plants.

How to reduce your energy bill while you’re away

While you should not completely switch off the cooling system, you can make adjustments to guarantee that you continue to save money on your energy costs. For instance, the air conditioner will run less often if the temperature is set 7 to 10 degrees higher than usual. You will conserve electricity while allowing your air conditioner to remain on and eliminate extra humidity.

In addition, a programmable thermostat is likely the most efficient method to regulate the temperature in your house. Set up a programmable or smart thermostat. When you leave the house, you have the option of adjusting the thermostat to a higher, more energy-efficient temperature, and you can program it to return to a more comfortable level when you get back.

This method might reduce your cooling costs by up to 15 percent. Follow suggested thermostat programming recommendations to take advantage of energy-saving strategies. Using a smart or programmable thermostat with a vacation mode helps ensure that your house is at a pleasant temperature when you return.

Other cost-saving heating & cooling methods

There are more factors to consider when deciding whether to keep the air conditioning on or off while you’re away.

• Check the weather prediction for the period you will be gone to determine whether you need to leave the air conditioner on or off. If high temperatures are forecast, it is best to leave the air conditioning on. The result is that your air conditioner won’t have to work as hard to maintain a comfortable temperature inside your house.
• The overall energy efficiency of your house will also play a role in determining whether or not you should switch off your air conditioner while you’re gone. Homes with sufficient attic insulation, less air penetration, and energy-efficient windows are more resistant to heat accumulation.
• It is preferable to keep your curtains closed throughout the day. Also install and utilize window shutters whenever feasible.
• You should definitely program your programmable or smart thermostat. Utilized correctly, programmable thermostats can reduce energy use by up to 30 percent, resulting in decreased utility costs. Programmable thermostats allow you to set temperatures even while you’re not there.
• If you do not have a programmed thermostat, you should manually change the temperature at night and while you are away. During the winter months, turn it down, and in the summer, turn it up a little.

Conclusion

When it is hot outdoors, you will soon realize that shutting off the air conditioner is not the most efficient approach to save electricity. You will return to a heated house, and restoring appropriate temperatures will take considerably longer. This could have a significant impact on comfort and even health.

Keeping your house at a steady temperature usually requires a continually operating HVAC system. This implies that your furnace or air conditioner may operate when you are sleeping, at work, or away from home. This loses more energy than the tiny amount you could save by leaving the device on continuously.

Contact us now to learn about further methods to save money on your cooling expenses. We can answer any of your thermostat-setting inquiries, and our experts can help you with routine maintenance. We provide energy-efficient systems and solutions for homes and businesses.