whats your AC thermostat set to?

[ESMonitor]

Living in Mississippi ours run pretty much nonstop during summer months.

I run around 74 during day and then down to 69-70 at night just before bed.

Change out air filter every month.

There should be a shrine built in honor of whoever invented AC.

[riverwed070707]

Off.

We're in hot, humid Iowa but I don't mind the heat and we spend most of our time outside anyway -- don't see the point in cooling the house if we prefer to sit where its hot anyway. There was a stint a couple weeks ago where it was consistently 100+ every day, and barely dropped to the 90s at night and we did turn our air on for about a week. Its been mid 90s all week this week but cools down in the 70s at night and its been bearable. I'm one of those oddballs that doesn't sleep well in the AC and I wake up stuffy and achy.

[disneysteve]

We're in hot, humid Iowa but I don't mind the heat and we spend most of our time outside anyway -- don't see the point in cooling the house

Keep in mind that higher temps and humidity levels are bad for a number of reasons. It promotes mold growth. It swells wooden structures like doors and windows and isn't great for wooden furniture either. It isn't a good storage environment for paper items like books, photo albums, scrapbooks, etc. If anyone has cardiac or respiratory problems (asthma, COPD, high blood pressure, CHF) it is dangerous. Also if you have any pets, they may not tolerate the conditions as well as you do.

As a general note, please remember that fans do not replace air conditioners. If you do choose to run fans as an alternative, keep the windows OPEN. Every summer, there are dozens of heat-related deaths caused in part by people running fans but having the windows closed. All that does is turn the house into a giant convection oven. It gets hotter inside than outside, like when you get into your car, and people - usually the elderly or those with health problems - can't live in those conditions for very long.

[Gailete]

It promotes mold growth. It swells wooden structures like doors and windows and isn't great for wooden furniture either. It isn't a good storage environment for paper items like books, photo albums, scrapbooks, etc.

Also not good if you have pianos. Hubby finds more problems with pianos because they are kept in the wrong environment than any thing else.

If anyone has cardiac or respiratory problems (asthma, COPD, high blood pressure, CHF) it is dangerous.

Preach it brother! This is why we had the AC installed when hubby say how poorly I coped physically with the high heat and humidity here.

[scfr]

Couldn't agree with disneysteve more about humidity. Our late dog had severe allergies so we really had to control our home's environment for his comfort.

Optimal humidity is 40-50%, not only for the reasons steve mentioned but also you will feel cooler when the humidity is lower. Last year we bought a stand alone Whynter energy star dehumidifier (bought a dent and scratch version to save money) so that we could keep our thermostat settings at 80+ while maintaining optimal humidity in the Texas heat. It really does a terrific job.

We are allowed to water our yard only once a week so a nice added bonus of the dehumidifier is that we use the water from the dehumidifier tank to give our plants a supplemental watering.

[greenskeeper]

window units in each bedroom for sleeping around 74, otherwise it's windows open and fans on here in hot and humid southeastern PA

[disneysteve]

Last year we bought a stand alone Whynter energy star dehumidifier (bought a dent and scratch version to save money) so that we could keep our thermostat settings at 80+ while maintaining optimal humidity in the Texas heat. It really does a terrific job.

We bought a new dehumidifier last year also. We had one that had been here since we bought the house in 1994 but I'm pretty sure it didn't do anything except run up the electric bill. Since getting the new one, a Danby, the house is much more comfortable, we're not having nearly the mold and dampness problems we were having before, and our electric bill has actually gone down. I'm assuming that is because the air conditioner doesn't have to work nearly as hard. If you live in a humid locale, I highly recommend getting one.

[scfr]

Another thing we did to lower humidity was change the bathroom fan switches to timers. We set them to keep running for about 20 minutes after our showers end. (I'm embarrassed to admit that before we put the timers on I occasionally left for work and left the fan running. I would mean to go back in to the bathroom to turn the fan off but would forget, especially if I was in a hurry to get out the door.) The timers were less than $20 each and easy for my husband, who will readily admit that he is NOT handy, to install. Those timers have been a real good investment.

[Gailete]

Our washer/dryer (it dries the clothes by dehumidifying them is the best way I can explain it)combo is upstairs in the bathroom. When running it during hot weather, especially when the AC is on, I open the window, shut the AC vent and shut the door so the hot, humid air goes outside instead of warming up the already warm upstairs. I hang what I can on dryer racks before running a load that has to go through the dryer, so the combo of the warm air helps to dry the load that is hanging. In the winter I reverse the process, make sure the door is open so the hot air goes into the rest of the upstairs. Getting to know your home and where the hot and cold spots are, is one of the best ways to save on heating and cooling. Just things like knowing which curtains to have closed to prevent the hot sun from passively heating the house in summer are the same ones that we open in the winter since we want the passive heat then.

[riverwed070707]

Keep in mind that higher temps and humidity levels are bad for a number of reasons. It promotes mold growth. It swells wooden structures like doors and windows and isn't great for wooden furniture either. It isn't a good storage environment for paper items like books, photo albums, scrapbooks, etc. If anyone has cardiac or respiratory problems (asthma, COPD, high blood pressure, CHF) it is dangerous. Also if you have any pets, they may not tolerate the conditions as well as you do.

As a general note, please remember that fans do not replace air conditioners. If you do choose to run fans as an alternative, keep the windows OPEN. Every summer, there are dozens of heat-related deaths caused in part by people running fans but having the windows closed. All that does is turn the house into a giant convection oven. It gets hotter inside than outside, like when you get into your car, and people - usually the elderly or those with health problems - can't live in those conditions for very long.

Fortunately we don't have any of those conditions in our household, and the dogs are outdoor dogs anyway (except in the winter). We definitely keep the windows open, its the only way to keep it bearable!

[JoeP]

72 when we are in the house, and 75 when we are away. We live in a VERY humid area and it becomes unbearable. I also run the furnace fan 24/7 to keep air moving, and also run ceiling fans. Basement is a cool 67 and has a dehumidifier.