If you are among the lucky people who can count on air conditioning to keep their home cool during the summer, you might be wondering how you can make the most of it without spending a fortune on your energy bills.
Using your air conditioner day after day requires a lot of energy, and keeping your home too cool is not necessarily a good idea.
What are the best air conditioner settings for the summer? We put together a guide to figure out the best air conditioner settings for the summer:
1. Is there such a thing as an ideal room temperature?
Many people will say that the ideal air conditioner settings for the summer in a room is between 22°C and 26°C. If you set your air conditioner in a way that will cool down your home to a temperature in this range, it should be fine. Not too hot, and not too cold.
But is that really the case? There are people who will shiver in a room kept at 22°C, and others who think that 26°C is way too hot. There are also people who would have a hard time telling the difference between the two.
The truth is that you should keep your home at a temperature that will feel comfortable to you. Instead of looking at your thermostat, take a moment to ask yourself if you are comfortable, or if you are too cold or too hot.
2. Each degree can help you save some money
You might think that a few degrees won’t make a big difference on your energy bills, but the truth is that for each degree you raise the temperature, you can save between 3% and 5% on your energy bills.
If you absolutely want to keep your home at 20°C all summer long, you will have higher bills than if you were fine with keeping it at 26°C.
3. Have a little experiment to find the ideal setting for your air conditioner
If you live alone, it should be simple enough to figure out if you are too hot or too cold. But what if you live with other people, and no one can agree on the same temperature?
You could have a little experiment, without telling your family. Set the thermostat to 22°C, and the next day, set it to 23°C. If no one complains, raise it one more degree after a few days, and keep going until at least one member of your family says it feels too hot. This should give you a good idea of the maximum temperature you can set.
If people keep changing the temperature and disrupting your experiment, ask everyone to try to determine which temperature they find the most comfortable, and get them all to agree to a compromise. Of course, on a particularly hot summer day, it makes sense to ask more of your air conditioner so you can avoid heat strokes.
4. Adhere to regular maintenance of your air conditioner
Even if you set your air conditioner at what you think is the ideal temperature for you and your family, problems could rise. The unit might experience problems if it is in need of air conditioner repair or maintenance.
Cleaning the filter and the coils of your air conditioner isn’t that complicated, and you can do it yourself by following the instructions of your user’s manual. However, if the filter and the coils are already clean, but the device doesn’t seem to be working efficiently, it’s best to call a professional to the rescue.
Regular maintenance of your air conditioner will guarantee you will stay cool this summer, and your energy bills will stay low.
5. Don’t cool your home while no one is there
It goes without saying that you can save money by not cooling your home while no one is there. If you have a smart thermostat, you can program it so the temperature will increase while you are away, and cool down just before you get back home.
If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, or if your air conditioner is not hooked up to your thermostat, you can simply stop it before you leave, and start it again when you come back.
6. Keep your home a bit warmer at night
You can also save some money by keeping your home a bit warmer during the night. We usually sleep much better when the temperature is not too hot, but if you can wear light pajamas, or even no pajamas at all, you should be able to sleep comfortably even if your air conditioner is set to a lower setting than during the day.
If you are not sure, try a simple test. Increase the temperature by just a few degrees, and see if you are able to sleep well. If you can’t be comfortable, set your air conditioner to a higher setting to cool down the room.
