Hot take: running my AC at 78 instead of 72 saved me $60 last month

I always thought you had to crank it down to be comfortable. But last month I tried just setting it to 78 and using a fan instead. No idea why I fought it for so long. Anyone else find a weird energy bill trick that actually worked?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_clark17d ago

$60 though? That seems a lot for just bumping the thermostat up six degrees. My bill barely budged when I tried that last summer. Maybe if you live in a super hot place or have a really old AC unit. But for most people I bet the savings are way less than that. Feels like one of those things that sounds better than it actually works.

drew_jones3117d ago

Yeah I hear you on that. My bill dropped maybe 15 bucks when I tried it and that was on a month where it was pushing 100 outside. I think the people who see huge savings probably have drafty houses or units that are way too big for their space. There's also the whole thing where if your AC is already struggling to keep up, bumping the temp just means it cycles less but still runs just as long when it does kick on. Feels like one of those tips that works great on paper but in real life the results are all over the place.

grant47816d ago

Huh I was actually thinking about this differently. Most people talk about the temperature setting itself but nobody really considers how the humidity plays into it. @drew_jones31 mentioned his AC struggling and I think that's the key thing. A window unit or older system might not dehumidify well if you let the house get too warm during the day, so even when it finally kicks on it just blows moist air around and never really cools you off. I bumped mine up five degrees last August and my electric bill went up like 12 bucks because the thing just ran constantly trying to pull the humidity out. Seems like the whole strategy depends way more on your local climate and equipment than just the number on the thermostat.