At What Temp Do You Set Your AC?

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Thing About AC & Really Hot/Humid Weather

Is once the place is cooled, keep it that way rather than let things heat up all over again. That just makes more work for the AC which may be already straining under load, and have to contend with everyone elses in the area doing the same putting stress on the power grid.

During warmer/hot months I keep the heavy drapes in the living room closed during the late morning through early evening to keep out the mid-day heat and humidity. Same for most all the rooms actually.
 
I set my A/C for 21 C (70F). Depending on the temperature, I will turn it on, or off, but leave the blower/fan on. Like today for instance, was very chilly for a end of May day in Nova Scotia, so I turned the A/C off, and got me some "free cooling" from the out doors. The air system in the house uses a HRV/Air Exchanger, which feeds in to the air handler. Mixing fresh air with recirculated air.
 
 
Outdoor temp 90°F.
Thermostat in LR (which includes kitchen & DR areas) currently at 78°F.
Master BR is 77°F.
Master bath (door was closed, south/west exposure, three 43"x43" glass block windows) unofficial (meaning a cheap wall-mount weather station) 80°F.
Office room (with two computers running and five windows, west exposure) immediately adjacent to LR is 82.9°F.
Spare BRs at other end of house reading 75°F.
 
What's With All The Water Inside?

My old Friedrich "WallMaster" would send a steady trickle of water out of the grill on very humid days and or when it was "steamy" indoors. Still now and then you'd hear water sloshing about inside during operation and or when turning the unit on or off, however nothing like the new unit.

When passing outdoors you can hear water sloshing about inside the unit and certianly when turning the thing on or off you hear quite allot. The AC is installed and leveled properly but no water has come out of the back as of yet. If one looks around at units in other buildings the "drain kit" by Friedrich has been installed (you can tell by the hose sticking out of the grille), but our sales/service guy recommends against that in all but the most extreme circumstances.
 
Some standalone (window) airs let the condenser fan splash into the outside drainage pan. Increases efficiency slightly. Water only ran out the bottom as an overflow. That "sloshing" sound is quite familiar.

Central drains get stopped up with algae. First notice you get is a puddle on the floor. Supposed to put a half cup of bleach in the line every season. This apartment doesn't bother. First summer it half flooded the bedroom.

We moved here in 1953. Residential central air was rare even in new houses, and almost exclusively water cooled with a tower in the back yard. We had window units in 1954. By 1957 the towers were disappearing in favor of the air cooled style we see today.

My body thermostat is spoilt by living in Hawaii 9 years. Below 71 my fingers start going numb. I set it for 72 in winter. Junk Honeywell thermo, have to jigger it every 10* the outside changes. Summer I run it manually, aim for 79-81.
 
61F all spring summer and fall.

61?!? [Lord Kenmore shivers at the thought.] I keep it at about 60 in winter (electric forced air heat here, and it's not the easiest place to heat). I have spent the last 6 months DREAMING of JUST hitting 65.
 
@ Laundress...

As it was explained to me,

The unit retains water to help cool the Condensing Coil outside. There is a solid round ring attached to the fan on the outside part of the A/C. This is called the "slinger". It picks up the condensate water that the evaporator has removed from the inside of the room and sprays it over the condensor coil to help remove the heat from the refridgerant.

I too have a Friedrich and it will drip water only when the pan is full on the outside. I was told to leave the plug in for maximum operation. The drain kits are for the Transom Installations or Installations when you don't want the condesate water to be annoying such as dripping on passers by or creating puddles on sidewalks etc.

Hope this helps.
 
73 daytime when we are home, and 75 at night. We still use a small window unit in the bedroom at night, because the 2nd floor is always a bit warmer, and we like it cool to sleep.

The technicians that installed the new furnace and central air told us never vary the temp more than a couple of degrees on the a/c side. (temp set up for cooling, vs set down for heating) As it takes more energy to bring the temp and humidity back to where they were, if you "set up" the setting more than a couple degrees. On the heating side, the "set back" is about 5 degrees at night.
 
I have had window units like you are mentioning with the water that hits the fan and goes over the coils to help with cooling. The idea is a fine one, but I have found that while this is good on one end it is bad for the case of the unit. I have seen them rust out within a 5 year period and then they put into the dumpster. I removed the plug on another one and let it drip. No noticable difference in cooling but that unit lasted more than 10 years with no rust. So I guess it is a give and take idea. I prefer for them to drain out than to rust out and replace.
Jon
 
Jon...

Exactly.

While the theory makes sense, Throwing water all over the place doesn't make sense.

My Grandfather had a 15,000 BTU Carrier from the late sixties. When he heard that water splashing around, he drained it and drilled a hole in the chassis for the condensate water to drain. It had of used R-22 becuase the air that came out of that unit could freeze your butt off,
 
Yikes!...

...61 degrees, I don't think my thermostats even go that low. I would freeze at 68 in the winter. It's supposed to it 113 today which is insane for May. Southern California Edison recently installed "smart meters" in my area...eliminates them paying for meter-readers and allows them to charge you an extra monthly fee, how nice. At least with these new meters I can use the computer to monitor how much power I've used to date as well as today's usage. You can also see the current amount of your bill which elminates "Summer Surprises." I set a budget amount and the computer alerts me when I've exceeded it, and they estimate your total bill for the month too. All this is just part of living in here in the Desert. It helps to remind yourself that Winter heating bills are around $20.00.
 
A/C 71 summer

Heat 67 winter

Both electric.

I've tried to higher A/C settings, 74, 75, 76 and I can't stand it. Even with the ceiling fans on, it just feels too uncomfortable to me. I'm an A/C addict too. Perhaps I should move it to 72, since 72 is an even #? LOL
 
I have a small bedroom window unit.....

and it is not marked in degrees, being analog. I have it set at "9", and low fan.

To me, air conditioning should be Arctic, or what's the point? However, beyond the coolness, the dehumidification is even more important to this Bear.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
 71?  Mark,  I would die.  With my older previous unit I did run the temp at 73, then 74.  Now with this current system I can't stand anything less than 76 which is why I have it set at 76 after 9pm.  Interesting too because I have one CA unit that is cooling a 3 story house.  As you move upward the temperature gets warmer....until the Ac period turns on  then it seems to get all of the floors close in temperature.

 

My current unit has a  humidity removal step when it  first starts and now that I think about it, this may be the reason I can take higher temperatures and can't take lower ones anymore.  I think I read that if you reduce the humidity higher temps don't feel as bad.

 

Anyway no way I could take anything under 75F during the day for cooling(not to even mention I couldn't afford the bill) but for heating I have it at 67F during the day  and 65F at night, but during the day I have to wear 5 layers of shirts to be comfortable. Talk about winter bulk - ugh.

 

What type of electric heat do you have?
 

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