If you use window AC, do you leave your AC (s) on when you're out of the house?

Isn’t it more of a waste to run it when you get home and still get no relief? Either get a timer and set it to go on a few hours before you get home, or let it run all day.

I have an air conditioner I set to energy saving so it cyles off and does not operate continuously but my bedroom is still cool when I get home.

yes leave it on but set it to 78–82°F (25.5–28°C). if you come home to 80 it can be lowered to cool in a reasonable time.

Get one of those timers that is set to go off at a specific time (like r1 suggested) and set it to start cooling however long it takes prior to you arriving home. Otherwise it's a waste of money to run it the entire time you're gone, as well as a waste to have it at all if it takes several hours to get it cool upon arriving home.

This apartment is extremely hot, it's under a hot attic with no exhaust fans. The problem really is: How hot the place gets when the AC is off. If I set it to go on a couple of hours before I get home, it is trying to cool off an apartment that's 90 degrees, rather than leaving it on in the morning when it's only 80 or less. I would have to set the timer for at least 4 or 5 hours before I get home. But at times I have done that. I no longer have a timer but I have come home at lunch and turned it on.

R3 Yes, that's a good idea.

I do because I have a dog. I do turn it down a bit though - she likes it warmer than I do.

I used to have my aunt living with me, and she didn't go out much in the summer, being in her late 80s (only on cool days), so it was on all day for her, anyway. But now I live alone so it seems weird to have it on. Still, you have to, to some degree or other.

R6, I was just coming in to advise getting a pet so that it isn’t a total waste.

I have central air but seldom run it unless the temperatures hit 90 or above. However, if I waited until 90 to turn it on, the house would never cool down, so on a day with a forecast calling for 90+, I set the thermostat to 78 so I can come home to a cool house.

And my dogs spend a comfortable day in lavish a/c.

I had mine on a timer when I had an upstairs room that I used as my den that did not have an air conditioning vent. The window unit on a timer set two hours before I came home was perfect.

And if you use a timer make sure you buy one that is heavy duty enough to handle the wattage of your air conditioner.

I leave it at 80 for the cats when we leave. I have a remote app and try to turn it to 73 about a half hour in advance of arriving back home. Best of both worlds.

R8 78 is a little hot. I mean, would you crank your heat, in winter, up to 78?

Cats are warm weather animals, they don’t care much about heat as long as there’s shade.

By the way, a problem can be: When I set the AC to what I think is a fairly low temp, on hot days it never even reaches that temp (say, 75). It just runs. I've tried it when I'm home.

Right now it's 92 out, and it's 78 inside, for ex.

Maybe you need a bigger unit, OP.

The thermostat should take care of things, so it isn't always running.

The AC might actually run less if you set it to maintain 78-82 or so vs turning it off during the day only to run it non-stop in the evenings.

I would also invest in some blackout window coverings. They help a lot.

R16 Nah, I got a bigger (higher BTU) one. I'm not saying it doesn't work well.

R17 It works if it's set high enough, but then the place won't be cool.

The fact is, most of the people who live here have their ACs on all the time. I was merely asking if any of you leave it on when yhou're out, and some of you have given me some great answers, thank you.

Another problem recently was that our AC was broken down at work. Nor is my AC particularly great in the car (most isn't). So when I got home it was essential to be cooler than 82. That would not even have cooled me off. Or today---I did some stuff outside, I took care of plants and flowers somewhere else---it's 92 and humid. You just can't cool off from that if it's 82 inside, or even 80.

Personally, I don't take heat well. I get dehydrated. And just can't tolerate it.

Absolutely NOT, what a waste of electricity and wear on my AC. And I climb five flights of stairs to get to my apt.

OP, set your AC in the the high 70's, & leave it on, you're wasting electricity otherwise, & being uncomfortable. Plus, your window unit has to work that much harder keeping the apartment cool, & cutting it on & off everyday will shorten it's life.

Former appliance salesman here. Run it at 78 during the day. This will dehumidify the room making it feel much cooler. If you run it constantly when you get home the coils freeze up and its efficiency will approach zero.

R12, 78 is warm, but it will hold, as opposed to 74, which Ive tried, but the unit is running constantly and can’t quite keep up when it’s in the 90s. I can just go down to the basement if I want to feel cooler. I’m wearing shorts and a T-shirt at home anyway.

I keep the house at 65 in winter. I’d love to keep it at 75, but that would cost a fortune.

We don't pay for heat in my condo. But I don't have it hot--usually I like 68 or 67.

The basement is the laundry room--but it's not that cool. It's only slightly lower than ground level. Our halls are not cooled. It's an old, garden-style apt. bldg. Stepping out into the hallway is like entering hell.

There's an enormous window in the hallway with plastic venetian blinds.

Get some blackout, thermal backed curtains and make sure your filter is cleaned each week. But leave it running. You might also want to add an oscillating fan on a stand to move the air around.

It's costing you a lot more money to cool the apartment down when you leave the AC off all day, than if you left it on the lowest setting all day.

I keep tropical fish and need to keep the indoor temp below 83F to keep the tank within safe temp range, so with a real heatwave, sorry Planet Earth, I'm running the AC 24/7. Set to 80 if I'm not there for a day or two. R27 and others have some good advice.

She called me poor!

I keep my central air at 81-82 during the day; otherwise, it would run constantly. But you get used to it.

I do turn it up to 84 when I go to bed, and run a window unit in the bedroom, set to 74. That makes it much easier for me to sleep.

When I get up in the morning, it's usually in the high 70s (and very humid); there's no insulation in this trailer and the jalousie windows leak like a sieve. So even if I don't have any windows open, it will generally be the exact same temperature/humidity as it is outside (except in the bedroom, where I turn the air off in the morning).

So while it's still cool-ish, I turn the central air back down to 81 and then it will kick in when the place gets hot again.

But one thing I know for sure: if I leave my central at 84 and turn it back down when it's in the mid-upper 80s outside, it takes [italic]forever[/italic] to get it down to 81-82 inside.

Good luck, OP!

Oh -- and one more thing: I have ceiling fans all over my trailer. They really do help.

Also, I just use a portable unit and roll it into whatever room I'm in.

R33, what brand & type of portable unit do you own?

OP you need to do some things to keep cool besides the air conditioner. if it never really cools down on super hot day. By all means run the air conditioner all day, when you are not there. But you also need to

1) buy fans that oscilllate 2) black out windows 3) when you come home, turn the AC down cooler 4) turn on two oscillating fans 5) take a cool shower and get your hair wet 6) bring a wicking golf or sports shirt into the shower and get it wet. wring it out 7) wear the wet shirt on your body. the Fans, airconditioner, and wet shirt will remove heat from your body any ou will feel cool until your AC brings down the temperature in your apartment.

This works. It's science. I guarantee you will feel cool enough and have some energy for the evening.

Here's an interesting chart periodically issued by the Department of Energy.

Where do you stand on average bill and usage data for your state?

I must concur with the other posters advising to use the Energy Saver function. Set properly, then your unit will automatically cycle on and off to maintain your set temperature. Basically, it will act like your heating furnace to maintain the temperature.

Portables are very noisy.

Portables are not as energy efficient as window units too. That is, they cost more to run.

If you let the AC run all day where I live your electric bill would be around 700 dollars a month.

Newer window and portable ACs have thermostats. I have a portable one in my guestroom upstairs because it gets hot in that corner of the house even with Central Air. You just set the desired temp and it turns on and off to cool the room based on the temp.

They've all had thermostats for decades, dimwit!

I should say that I am happy with the portable and my only real complaint is the noise. Forget about watching TV in the same room.

r34, not sure what brand. it's about 1 square foot by 3 feet tall. I got separate venting to the window and (12 feet) and put it on a cart with a shelf below. on the shelf I put a collapsible bin and got a longer drain tube to run into the bin. I put a rubber duckie in the bin- if I can see the duck it's time to empty the bin.

I am able to just turn it to whichever room I am in because my apartment is shaped like a plus sign (excluding the kitchen). I find it less noisy than a window unit. My favorite part is the sensor is inside my apartment with the ac, not (presumably) outside like a window unit. It drives me NUTS when on a super muggy evening all the heat is driven inside by a storm but the window ac thinks it's nice and cool because it's basing it on the outside.

R28 Yeah, I think so too.

R44/rescuechick, thank you.

[quote]I do because I have a dog. I do turn it down a bit though - she likes it warmer than I do.

She told you that?

r47, she did!

[quote]bring a wicking golf or sports shirt into the shower and get it wet. wring it out 7) wear the wet shirt on your body.

TF!? I’m not sitting on my furniture in wet clothes.

R35, No it does cool the place down on a super hot day. But only if I leave it on all day. Thanks for some of those tips.

Do portable users ever worry about leaving it unattended and the water overflowing?

Im in N Fl and I keep mine at 74 day and night . Any warmer and I just dont sleep as comfortably . Besides my elderly mother has copd and she never leaves the house so might as well.

r51, I put it on the timer if it's super humid at night. I suppose I could get a larger bin, I currently use a 2 gallon bin I think.

Drinking a glass of ice water helps a lot too. It cools me down immediately if I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m hot but don’t want to lower the thermostat.

r34 I just bought a Whynter brand portable unit, it's wonderful. Great brand, well-made, made in the US (I believe). Easy to set up and use, has a separate dehumidifying-only option which I find cools me off as much as the full A/C option.

r51 I used a small bowl the first night for the water tube - mistake! Thank god I woke up early to find it full, but not overflowing. Am getting a tall bin or bucket for this purpose. This unit really takes the humidity out.

Move?

Sure, I'll move tomorrow.