The Best Thermostat Setting for Summer

A Reminder for Our Central Air Customers

Summer has come to the Hudson Valley. That means you’ll now spend more time looking for ways to beat the heat and stay cool. On particularly scorching hot days, you want to know that your AC is up to the task of keeping you and your family cool. However, you also don’t want to break the bank with your energy bills. You want to find the balance between being comfortable and keeping your energy costs as low as possible.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to strike the balance between comfort and cost. You can do certain things minimize the strain on your AC. Firstly, it helps to make your home as energy efficient as possible. In a more energy efficient home, the AC doesn’t have to work as hard to keep the home as cool. Less work for your AC translates to lower costs for you. And if you use a thermostat, you’ll set a limit to how cool your AC works to keep your home. Picking the right temperature for comfort and cost is important.

The most efficient summer home temperature

For comfort and energy-efficient cooling, set your thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer when everyone is home and awake. You can raise the temperature to 85 degrees Fahrenheit at night or when the house will be empty.

It can be tempting to lower the thermostat to a colder than normal temperature when you turn on your air conditioner, but according to the United States Department of Energy (DOE), doing so doesn’t cool your home faster and could lead to excessive cooling and therefore additional (and unnecessary) energy expenses—which is precisely what you’re trying to avoid.

Other ways to lower energy costs this summer

Here are some ways to stay comfortable and cool in your Hudson Valley home while keeping your cooling costs under control.

1. Close blinds and curtains to the sun during the day. This will stop the sunlight from raising the temperature inside your home and forcing your AC to work harder to cool things down. A lot of unwanted heat can enter your home through its windows.
2. Make your home more energy efficient by caulking windows, installing door sweeps, and adding insulation. Doing these things will also save you money on your heating bills during the winter!
3. It’s always a good idea to use a programmable thermostat. Set it to 78 degrees during the day and 85 degrees at night. For each degree higher you go, you could save 3% to 5% a day on your AC bills (according to the DOE).
4. Since hot air rises, move your mattress to the floor of your bedroom or to a lower floor in your home—perhaps even your much cooler basement. You won’t be tempted to turn the temperature as low when you’re in a naturally cooler part of your home.
5. Check and change or clean your air conditioner’s filters according to the manufacturer’s instructions (more frequently if you have pets). An AC with clean filters runs more efficiently. Better yet, sign up for the Bottini Fuel Air Conditioning service plan. It includes an annual inspection as well as discounts on service, parts, and repairs. The annual inspection will ensure that your AC is running as efficiently as possible.

How do high temps put a strain on my AC?

Looking for ways to minimize the work your AC needs to do gets even more important the hotter the weather gets. That’s because high temps can put a strain on your cooling system. And the hotter it gets the harder your AC has to work to keep you and your family cool.

Here are some of the ways soaring temps affect your AC:

1. Overburdened power substations can cause your air conditioner to fail for hours (sometimes days).
2. High heat can shorten the longevity of your AC’s capacitors. These are electronic components that control motors in your cooling system that are key to its operation.
3. During a particularly severe or long-lasting heat wave, your AC’s motors could burn out from overuse.

Bottini Knows AC Systems

Bottini Fuel has over 70 years of experience keeping our customers comfortable in their homes. Whether your central air conditioning system needs repairs, maintenance, or it’s time to replace it, you can trust us with the job. Our service plan helps prevent breakdowns and ensures that your central air conditioning system runs at peak efficiency. We provide professional, reliable, and speedy repairs. And we guarantee our installations.

Contact Bottini Fuel for all your AC needs in the Hudson Valley. We’ve got you covered.