Danestress Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 What is the best/most efficient thing to do when the outdoor temperature at night is about what you A/C is set to? Example, day time temperatures are 88 degrees. You keep the AC at 77 degrees during the day and are comfortable. If the night were going to stay hot, you would turn the a/c to 75, because you sleep better when it is cooler. However, when the temperature is actually going to be 74 or 75 degrees that night, what do you do? The A/C isn't really kicking in much, and the house feels hot. If you open the window, you get fresh air, but also humidity. Neither option seems really comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I would cool the house down to a comfortable level for sleeping, the turn it off. But. I don't know if I'd open the windows because of my seasonal allergies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 If humidity is that high, I wouldn't open the windows. I also have allergies as well as a one-story house, so that factors into my answer. I would turn the A/C to a slightly lower temp to make it come on now and then. I do the same in the winter if the heat isn't kicking on at our normal temp, but it also doesn't feel warm yet. It's not worth losing sleep for me at this point in life, and it doesn't come on all that more often to quibble about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 If humidity is high, then I'd run the AC a few degrees cooler than outside and turn on fans. We have ceiling fans in most of the rooms and portable fans in the kids' rooms. I need to have air moving on me when I sleep. If humidity isn't terrible, then I'd just run fans and keep the windows open. (edited because my first try was nearly incoherent!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I'd stick with the AC unless nighttime temps dropped into the 60s. It never feels steamy in the 60s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 We super cool at night down to 68. We then set it to 74. Doesn't turn on at all till about 2pm. Saves us money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I'd lower the AC. Of course, that's also because I can't even imagine the critters that would crawl, fly, and jump inside if given an open window of opportunity :scared: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I'd lower the AC. Of course, that's also because I can't even imagine the critters that would crawl, fly, and jump inside if given an open window of opportunity :scared: Don't you have screens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 This is from someone who lived in metro Phoenix for eight years... Leave the air conditioning on and set it to whatever you are comfortable with. Reason: unless your house has no insulation, there is a great deal of heat trapped in the walls of the house. As the sun goes down the house will try to cool off and radiate that heat out of the walls and into your living places making them HOT! I learned this the hard way. After running the ac all summer set at 80 degrees, the heat finally broke in October and the outside temperature dropped to a high of 85 and a night time low in the low 70s. I turned off the ac and opened the windows. At 2:00 am we woke up to the inside temperature in the mid 90s. The walls were heating the house and we were miserable. The ac went back on to cool the walls down and finally turned off a week or so later when all that heat had radiated out. I don't know about the humidity. I suppose it could make enough of a difference in comfort, but I still think the ac would be best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarinesWife Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 If the outside temps aren't getting into the low 60's or 50's then it doesn't cool off enough in my room. I turn the a/c down to 65 at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I turn our AC on in the spring when it gets warm enough to need it. And then I forget about it until it's time to consider if I need to switch over to heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisIsTheDay Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Yes, if the humidity is high, we keep our windows shut. Dh likes to sleep with it really cold, so the a/c is set at 68 at night. We've probably seen the last of open windows at night for the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 Go with the AC to avoid the humidity, but also make sure the AC fan is set to on not auto if that is an option. Ceiling or small fans with help keep the air moving and make the house feel cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 This is from someone who lived in metro Phoenix for eight years... Leave the air conditioning on and set it to whatever you are comfortable with. Reason: unless your house has no insulation, there is a great deal of heat trapped in the walls of the house. As the sun goes down the house will try to cool off and radiate that heat out of the walls and into your living places making them HOT! I learned this the hard way. After running the ac all summer set at 80 degrees, the heat finally broke in October and the outside temperature dropped to a high of 85 and a night time low in the low 70s. I turned off the ac and opened the windows. At 2:00 am we woke up to the inside temperature in the mid 90s. The walls were heating the house and we were miserable. The ac went back on to cool the walls down and finally turned off a week or so later when all that heat had radiated out. I don't know about the humidity. I suppose it could make enough of a difference in comfort, but I still think the ac would be best. Jenne, This makes a lot of sense to me. The summers don't get too hot here but my bedroom is in the SW corner of our house. So as the whole house is cooling at night, it seems like my room is getting hotter and hotter! BTW, how do you say your name? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 We are totally struggling with these choices right now. We just had new central air retrofitted in our 1915 house. We have not had central air in this house. When the temp is 85, setting at 75 is perfectly comfortable. When it is 78 and humid, it is not. Taking notes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 We don't ever open our windows. Someone here seems to have seasonal allergies at whatever point it would be cool/warm enough to do so. And it's SO humid here that it would just be gross. Our AC is on a programmable thermostat so it has a range it's allowed to be in at different times and the cold or heat will come on if it goes out of that range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 No humidity? Windows open. Humidity? AC. Always. And ceiling fan, so the air is moving (I lived in San Jose, California, for 16 years, where there is often a wonderful breeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 This is from someone who lived in metro Phoenix for eight years... Leave the air conditioning on and set it to whatever you are comfortable with. Reason: unless your house has no insulation, there is a great deal of heat trapped in the walls of the house. As the sun goes down the house will try to cool off and radiate that heat out of the walls and into your living places making them HOT! :iagree: This has been our experience as well. One issue is with our downstairs which has separate HVAC. It's naturally cooler down there and sometimes I have to crank the a/c down because air just doesn't circulate otherwise. And for upstairs . . . I just hate when it's cooler outside than inside but we can't turn off the a/c or the heat in the walls will just heat the house even more. I would try circulating the air with fans first but if that didn't cut it I'd probably turn the a/c down a degree or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reign Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I would keep the windows shut leave the air at 77 and have a small fan in the bedroom to keep the air moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GailV Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 This is from someone who lived in metro Phoenix for eight years... Leave the air conditioning on and set it to whatever you are comfortable with. Reason: unless your house has no insulation, there is a great deal of heat trapped in the walls of the house. As the sun goes down the house will try to cool off and radiate that heat out of the walls and into your living places making them HOT! I learned this the hard way. After running the ac all summer set at 80 degrees, the heat finally broke in October and the outside temperature dropped to a high of 85 and a night time low in the low 70s. I turned off the ac and opened the windows. At 2:00 am we woke up to the inside temperature in the mid 90s. The walls were heating the house and we were miserable. The ac went back on to cool the walls down and finally turned off a week or so later when all that heat had radiated out. I don't know about the humidity. I suppose it could make enough of a difference in comfort, but I still think the ac would be best. Yep, if we don't have the AC on, our house is hottest after about 5pm when the outside temperature starts to drop. Plus here in St. Louis we have enough humidity to be a bowl of soup. Even with the AC going and a dehumidifier going in the basement I can still feel moisture in the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 I don't know about the humidity. I suppose it could make enough of a difference in comfort, but I still think the ac would be best. In our part of the country, the humidity is all-important in terms of comfort. Even at this time of year, when humidity is pretty low during the day (as low as 47% this afternoon), it goes up a lot at night (forecast to be 81-84% after about 2am). We like to leave the windows open as long as we can in the spring, but we've started keeping them closed lately. Ceiling fans are a must for us to keep the air moving. This house is one level with higher ceilings and better insulation, so it is possible to go longer without the a/c than we did in the house that was a 30 year old tri-level. For those who live in dry climates, this heat index chart gives an explanation of how much humidity can change the feel of the temperature. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/psr/general/safety/heat/ We routinely get over 95% humidity in the summer, temps usually in the 90s, sometimes up to 100 or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted May 31, 2014 Share Posted May 31, 2014 aC because of allergies and humidity. Our dehumidifier is emptying out 90 pints a day. Really, we are measuring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katilac Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Don't you have screens? Some of our critters laugh at screens, a high mocking laugh as they lift the corner of the screen high over their buggy little heads, waving their buddies on in . . . Okay, maybe not, but I would live in fear of an unnoticed hole or tear, because really, our critters are scary and gross. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 Some of our critters laugh at screens, a high mocking laugh as they lift the corner of the screen high over their buggy little heads, waving their buddies on in . . . Okay, maybe not, but I would live in fear of an unnoticed hole or tear, because really, our critters are scary and gross. I don't open windows often here because the lizards seem to easily get around them. I often see them on my side of the screen and the only thing keeping them out is having the window closed. If the lizards can get through the screen, I would think all the little critters can too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 No humidity? Windows open. Humidity? AC. Always. And ceiling fan, so the air is moving (I lived in San Jose, California, for 16 years, where there is often a wonderful breeze. Yup - this is what we do. We're lucky in that we get down to the low 60's and high 50's most nights in the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted June 1, 2014 Share Posted June 1, 2014 We keep a/c and turn our whole house fan on at night to cool it down. We will turn the a/c later this summer but we try to avoid using it. We have an old house and the windows are set to allow for cross breezes and we have fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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