Turn off the air conditioner or not?

Many people turn off their air conditioner while they are at work and then turn it back on when they get home thinking it will save them money.  It does not.  An air conditioner dehumidifies the home by removing humidity not only from the air but carpet, furniture, curtains, etc.  When turning the system off for hours and then back on, it has to start the dehumidification process all over again.  You are better off to turn the thermostat up than to turn the system off.  Let’s say you typically set your thermostat at 72 degrees, turn it up to 78 or 80 instead of shutting it off altogether.

It is important to get an air conditioning system sized properly.  If a system is oversized, it will cool down too quickly before removing all the humidity.  That is why you can be in a cool indoor environment, but still feel sticky and uncomfortable.  If it is undersized, it will run and run and run and never do the job.  An air conditioning system is designed to cool to 20 degrees below the outdoor temperature.  So, when we experience those unusual above 90 degree days, most air conditioners will run without shutting of until evening.

Some customers get confused about the thermostat when switching from heating to cooling.  Remember, you always turn a thermostat up to be warmer and down to be cooler no matter which mode it is set to operate.