Ready for the next heatwave? Temperatures are rising in LA today and reportedly over the weekend to the triple-digits. We've seen quite a few "Flex Your Power" ads that are touting the 78 degree thermostat rule, but here's how much it will cost you if you do decide to lower the temperature...
[ Photo from LaurenceTrucker's Flickr ]
Each degree you set your thermostat below 78° F could amount to a 5-7% increase in your cooling cost which is pretty substantial when you start adding up the days. (For the cold months, each degree you set your thermostat above 70° F can increase your heating bill by the same amount).
Here's some tips from Reliant Energy about how to offset your energy usage:
1. If you have a manual thermostat, consider switching to a programmable model. If it's properly programmed, this can save you up to 10% in cooling costs. They're also more accurate than manual models and you can program it to turn off the AC when you're not at home. Don't want to come to a hot house? You can set these programmable models to automatically cool your house down right before you come home.
2. Leave the fan setting on your thermostat to Auto so that the motor blower only operates when the compressor is running. If you place the fan on "On," it'll run continuously and cause heat and humidity build up in your home.
3. If you do have a programmable thermostat, check out the suggested schedule and settings at Reliant's Thermostat tips.
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With a good ceiling fan, guests and I all find 81 to be very comfortable in my apartment. 78 is pretty low.
view Easyenough's profile
I hate to say this, but no way could I deal with 78. That's way too hot for me. 75 is the best I can do, and sometimes I have to turn it down to 74. Sorry, I guess I'm a bad person.
view jooly's profile
When I'm home mine is set to 78, when I leave during the day, I have it set to 80 (I have a dog and 3 cats). I don't think the 78 rule applies when it's 110 out though.
(Phoenix, bah.)
view ashy's profile
An expert from a state commission spoke at a recent community energy conservation event in my NJ town, and he actually said ceiling fans are counterproductive in keeping things cool... his explanation was that they take the hot air that has risen to the ceiling and push it back down to people level. Of course, the air movement itself feels good and cool on the skin, but he advised table fans instead to move air horizontally, so you didn't lose the cooling benefit of letting the hot air stay up near the ceiling. FWIW!
view ljbmonkey's profile
Good tip ljbmonkey! I think I'll get a new table fan for the bedroom and see if we like it better than our ceiling fan.
view Monica's profile
Wow, I'm so happy when my house gets up to 78 degrees in summer! What's that famous Mark Twain quote? The coldest winter I ever lived through was summer in San Francisco...
view alexarc's profile
thx ljbmonkey!
view Lizzykewl's profile
jooly, if you're a bad person, so am I. I have a hard time with the heat (I suppose I live in the wrong place for it), but 78 is too warm for me too. If there were no ramifications, 68 would be ideal (I could happily live ina meat locker, I suppose), 74/75 is my limit too. I keep all the shutters closed during the day and open all the windows at night and that seems to help my a/c not have to work too hard.
view LilyC's profile
Everybody's a little different. Being cold-blooded, I leave it on 85 most of the time. I have a bigger problem keeping the huz from turning it on 85 in the winter! And it's not like our winters are all that cold.
view whytephoenix's profile
I go with 78 when I am at home with the exception of night time....I program it to 76 when I go to bed and have it automatically go back up to 78 at around midnight. I set it to 82 when I leave for the day (I have 2 inside doggies).
view hanako66's profile
I like how you give a temperature in Fahrenheit, and show a picture of a thermostat that uses Celsius.
view Lukens's profile
I was also initially thrown by the fact it's a heating thermostat (the same model used in most of the houses I lived in as a child) yet the article was about cooling.
I was shocked when I thought you were suggesting warming a house to 26ËC, until I realised you actually meant cooling it to that temperature.
view Lukens's profile
Ours stays on 80 during the day and goes down to 76 at night.
view ehat's profile
When I'm at home it's at 77 and sometimes that's cold for me in the house. When I'm at work, it's 85 baby!
view surferartchick's profile