Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Boobam. Here. In these times of ridiculous
Speaker 1: inflation and over the top gas prices, many consumers are
Speaker 1: looking to save a buck or two wherever they can.
Speaker 1: Of course, energy costs money, and the more you use,
Speaker 1: the higher the bill is going to be. And air
Speaker 1: conditioners account for six percent of US electricity costs per year,
Speaker 1: which is about twenty nine billion dollars according to the U.
Speaker 1: S Department of Energy. We know that running the air
Speaker 1: conditioning unit all the time is expensive, But will you
Speaker 1: save money and energy by keeping it at the same
Speaker 1: temperature continuously or by raising it higher when you're out
Speaker 1: of the house. A lot depends on how long you'll
Speaker 1: be gone, like don't turn off the unit entirely if
Speaker 1: you're just going to work. For the article, this episode
Speaker 1: is based on how Stuff Works, spoken by email with
Speaker 1: Logan Cresca, communications consultant at Duke Energy in North Carolina.
Speaker 1: She said, if you're just leaving home for the day,
Speaker 1: it's more energy efficient to keep your air conditioning turned on,
Speaker 1: but turn it a few degrees higher than you might
Speaker 1: set it for comfort if you were at home. The
Speaker 1: same directions apply if the house is going to be
Speaker 1: unoccupied for only a day or two. Turning off the
Speaker 1: A C unit during the day isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Speaker 1: It would just have to stay on longer to cool
Speaker 1: off a hot dwelling. In fact, the unit may use
Speaker 1: more energy if it's left on all day at the
Speaker 1: normal coolness than if you turned it off for the
Speaker 1: day and back on again in the evening. That said,
Speaker 1: if you live in a hot climate, it could take
Speaker 1: several hours to cool off your house, which would be
Speaker 1: pretty uncomfortable. Also, central air conditioning isn't just about cooling
Speaker 1: your space. It also drastically reduces humidity levels. When the
Speaker 1: system is shut off for more than a few hours,
Speaker 1: the humidity level will start to rise, which can result
Speaker 1: in mold growth. Much to electronic items and the warping
Speaker 1: of wooden paper. Any pets left in the house could
Speaker 1: be at risk of discomfort or overheating. This is especially
Speaker 1: likely in hot human climates, but like Florida. This is
Speaker 1: why it's recommended to keep the A C on, but
Speaker 1: raised to a higher temperature. The Department of Energy points
Speaker 1: out that a higher interior temperature actually slows the flow
Speaker 1: of heat into your house, thus saving energy and money
Speaker 1: either way. When you get back home, don't turn the
Speaker 1: A C super low to speed up the cooling process.
Speaker 1: Your home won't cool any faster. The unit only works
Speaker 1: at one speed. You'll just be adding to your energy bill.
Speaker 1: If the entire household pets included, are vacating the premises
Speaker 1: for more than two days, it is an option to
Speaker 1: go ahead and turn everything off. You'll certainly save the
Speaker 1: most energy and money on your bill that way. That said,
Speaker 1: the internal temperature might not be pretty when you get back.
Speaker 1: You can avoid coming home to a sweltering abode by
Speaker 1: installing a smart thermostat. Kriska explained investing in a programmable
Speaker 1: or smart thermostat is a great way to monitor and
Speaker 1: control your home's energy efficiency even when you're not there.
Speaker 1: You can turn the thermostat up before leaving and then
Speaker 1: begin to cool it down when you're on your way home.
Speaker 1: She also suggests closing the curtains if you're going to
Speaker 1: be gone for more than a few hours. This will
Speaker 1: effectively block out the sun so that your air conditioning
Speaker 1: unit doesn't have to work so hard to stay ahead
Speaker 1: of the heat. In areas that see extreme temperatures. This
Speaker 1: can make an enormous difference. Energy Star, which is a
Speaker 1: program run by the Department of Energy and the Environmental
Speaker 1: Protection Agency, recommends keeping your thermostat at seventy eight degrees
Speaker 1: fahrenheit that's twenty eight celsius or higher in the day,
Speaker 1: and eighty five fahrenheit or twenty nine celsius when you're
Speaker 1: away from home. If these temperatures seem too high to you,
Speaker 1: consider the cooling your home to seventy eight degrees rather
Speaker 1: than seven two could cut your electricity bill by Cress
Speaker 1: Cup has a slightly different take on the thermostat issue,
Speaker 1: as she said, raise it as high as you can
Speaker 1: while still remaining comfortable, and this will vary by individual.
Speaker 1: As a rule, raising the temperature by just two degrees
Speaker 1: will help reduce cooling costs by five percent. A few
Speaker 1: other measures can make a big difference in overall climate
Speaker 1: related comfort, particularly if you've decided to raise the thermostatic
Speaker 1: higher than you're used to. No one is to make
Speaker 1: use of ceiling fans, Chriss said, Remember though, that fans
Speaker 1: cool people, they don't change the temperature, so turn them
Speaker 1: off when you leave the room. Air Conditioners have come
Speaker 1: a long way even in the last decade. Modern units
Speaker 1: can save on cooling energy costs compared with air conditioners
Speaker 1: installed only ten years ago, and they're an even bigger
Speaker 1: improvement on those of dinosaurs installed in the nineteen seventies
Speaker 1: as they use between third in fifty less energy. So
Speaker 1: if you've got an older system in a home that
Speaker 1: you own, updating it might be worth the investment. Finally,
Speaker 1: make sure your home is properly insulated so that cold
Speaker 1: air isn't escaping out and warm air isn't creeping in.
Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article should you turn
Speaker 1: your A C up when You're not home? On how
Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com written by Leo Hoyt. Brain Stuff
Speaker 1: is production of by Heart Radio in partnership with how
Speaker 1: stuff works dot Com, and it is produced by Tyler Quang.
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