[Heather]

I am spending so much money to cool my house. I’m wondering if it costs more to keep your house at a consistent temp.

Or if it would be cheaper to only really cool at night.

I spend the majority of my day in my basement where it stays pretty consistently cool.

So I keep the day time temp pretty high.

But ya girl is in perimenopause and I can’t sleep unless my bedroom is cool at night.

Am I shooting myself in the foot by making it work that hard at night instead of maintaining all day?

Edit to add: my basement is quite small.

No room unfortunately to put a bed and I need to sleep upstairs with my daughter so she can find me at night when she needs me.

I have a lot of fans, and central air.

My question is specifically around cost to maintain temperature vs. cost to cool only at night.

[Anna]

I live in Southeast Texas and my thermostat is set at 77 all the time.

I run my ceiling fans in living room and my bedroom.

My electric bill is around $120-$150 depending on if hubby is home.

I don’t use lights during the day and a small lamp with 20 watt bulb at night.

I wash dishes and laundry at night.

I use to take hot showers but now they are about 84 degree shower or cooler.

My house is a 3 bed 2 bath.

No basement but has good insulation as I at times cover up with a blanket.

But other times I am having hot flashes.

[Jennie]

We had window a/c units in the upstairs bedrooms and main floor. So idk how that compares to having central a/c.

I’d heard the “it’s better to run all the time, than turning it on and off” thing.

So, we ran it all the time. $450 a month (I know that’s low for some people, but that was 1/2 of 1 check for us.

So, we started just running them after the sun went down, and cost went down to $200, and we could sleep at night.

Yes, it was horribly hot and muggy during the day, we suffered or hibernated in the basement

[Bethany]

Could you add a fan in your room to help keep you cooler at night?

[William]

When I was a kid we didn’t have ac. We’d put a fan in the window drawing in on one end of the house and one pulling out on the other end.

Keep that running until the temp starts climbing, and then shut the windows and close the blinds/curtains.

It keeps the temp tolerable during the day.

Run fans inside the house then.

You can also pull cooler air up from the basement with fan/fans at the stairs

[Starice]

I find that having the AC at 80 and using oscillating fans is comfortable.

When I leave the house I set it at 83.

[Christina]

You would save money by keeping it at a constant temperature. I had an HVAC guy tell me that.

We tried it and it worked. Instead of having it shut off during the day and turning it back on when we get off work.

Just let it run at your regular temperature all day long.

It’s also better on your unit because it doesn’t have to work so hard to catch up when you get home from work.

[Stacy]

I worked for an electric company. It’s best to keep it on all day at the same temp.

If you turn it on and off, it’s working more.

I use the analogy of an oven.

Let’s say it needs to be on 375 and you turn it off then say I need it back on, or will take more time to warm up from zero than if it was at 350.

[B-Ann]

Put some ice in a cake pan and put a fan in front of it to blow cool air.

[Mary]

I live in the Mediterranean.It is very hot.
During the day videos fans.

We turn on the fan when we go until the room or rooms in the night.

We turn on the AC in the bedroom song only..

Even in the living room we use fans during the day.

That way you only use what you need

[Michele]

Yup insulation and sealed windows with shades for sun. Cook outside when possible and then you will be able to cook your home and enjoy it.

Watch local market place for free insulation loose or styrofoam?

Start in attic and spray foam in walls.

Start on the side that get coldest in winter. Plastic can help in crawl space.

Check doors for drafts and possibly a porch ti shade windows.

[Kristi]

I’m in TX, we keep our thermostat around 83 day, 79 night. We raise it more if we’re not home.

Bill is usually around $150-170 during these hot months.

I turn the thermostat down while I’m in the shower and my bedroom gets nice and cool and we have a ceiling fan.

The A/C only comes on once or twice at night.

[Terri]

We have on peak and off peak rates. The on peak is 4PM – 7PM. I have been super cooling prior to on peak, then increasing the temps during on peak.

I’ve noticed a positive difference in my electric bill.

[Teresa]

My son purchased a floor register vent booster that plugs into the wall that improved the heating/cooling in his upstairs bedroom.

Game changer, he said

[Jennifer]

Do you have a window unit in tour bedroom and only cool bedroom? Or are you using central or to cool the whole house?

I recommend only cooling bedroom and also using oscillating fan

[Paula]

I use ac only when I’m home. You can’t tell me 24/7 is cheaper than only when needed

[Beth]

I close and cover the vents in the rooms I don’t use, both in summer for A/C and winter for heat.

My programmable thermostat is set about 4 degrees higher during the day while I’m at work.

[Tammy]

I bought a portable window unit for my bedroom, I sleep at 68 degrees while my house is 74, game changer for me

[Courtney]

We keep the central air at a higher temp and then have a window a/c for the bedroom and keep the temp down to 67 using the window a/c

[Rhonda]

It honestly depends on how well your home is insulated.
We had our home re-insulated last fall, the difference in the energy costs is unbelievable.

In spite of the record temps my energy bills are about 40% less than they were last year at this time

[Rebecca]

I think nights only. Especially when the heat is peak in the afternoon the AC will run straight.

[Alexis]

Our second floor is inconsistant with cooling so I have been using a fan at night.

One in the window and one on my side of the bed.

I shut off the other bedrooms since no one uses them anyway so no sense in cooling them.

[Jennifer]

A constant temp is more cost effective, or a programmable thermostat that raises the temp 2-3 degrees when you are gone

[Dana]

We actually moved a bed to the basement! It was very pleasant. We set it up on a rug with night stands and everything.
Worked great.

[Author]

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