Does the Air Conditioner Temperature Go Up & Down in the Heat of Summer Time?

Air Conditioner Efficiency

• To understand if it is advantageous to turn your thermostat's temperature settings up and down during the summer, it is necessary to understand air conditioner efficiency. In general, the only way to improve the efficiency of your air conditioner is to turn up your thermostat. Thus, the efficiency of an air conditioner is determined in large part by the comfort of the people in the home; the higher the thermostat can be set without making home inhabitants uncomfortable, the more efficiently the air conditioner is operating.

Summer Thermostat Settings

• Following the same logic, your air conditioner's thermostat should be set as high as is comfortably possible for people in the home. The California Energy Commission recommends setting your thermostat at 78 degrees when people are in the home. Depending on how hot summers get in your area, however, you may be able to comfortably keep the home at higher than 78 degrees and allow your conditioner to run more efficiently.

Leaving the Home

• Setting your thermostat to a higher temperature when no one is home provides an easy way of vastly improving your air conditioner's energy efficiency. Setting the thermostat at 85 degrees or higher and then lowering it when you get home. Programmable thermostats that use a timer can even be set to lower the thermostat setting just before you get home so that you do not walk into an uncomfortably warm home.

Other Efficiency Tips

• Using ceiling fans can make the home more comfortable while still running the air conditioner at a higher thermostat setting. This can also greatly help when the thermostat is set higher when no one is home. Of course, as is the case with all other central heating and cooling appliances, regular preventative maintenance is the most effective way of ensuring that the air conditioner operates at its most efficient.