78 Degrees is the Perfect AC Setting in Summer!

[Ben]

According to "experts".

Man, these people are either high, or else Taylor Lorenz is ghost writing the article. This is like the perfect temp for people that are 100 years old and can't move to Florida.

I consider myself to be saving energy if I set mine to 74. I sleep at 72 in the summer (62 in Winter) and still have the ceiling fan going. Admittedly I like to sleep cold as I feel more rested, but 78 is what I'd shoot for during a power outage when I was using alternative methods to cool the house.

https://www.homesandgardens.com/solved/what-temperature-to-set-an-air-conditioner

[K Frame]

If I kept the house at 78 I'm not sure who would die faster -- me or Seren.

I have no doubt that if we were to investigate, we'd find that the f*expletive deleted*tards who write articles like this don't come even remotely close to standing up to what they claim is the PROPER way of doing things.

I do my energy savings in the winter when my pellet stove takes over heating duties and the heat pump basically sits there unused.

[Boomhauer]

Ah yes brought to you by the air conditioning is evil, we should be more like Europe and do without crowd.

*expletive deleted*ck ‘em.

[WLJ]

I keep ours at 78° with an occasional bump down to 77 if I feel uncomfortable.
Also have install ceiling fans in just about every room.
You get use to it

[Kingcreek]

74 with ceiling fans here.
If I was to do it again I would have several mini splits for more zone control.
Like Ben, we’re at 62 in the bedroom in winter. (hot water zone heating rocks)

[French G.]

73 seems to be preferable summer temp. Homicide in my area would spike if you made me sleep at 78. AC didn’t get turned on until early July and then because of Canada. Usually a two month AC season for me. Pre women in the house the heat stayed at 54 and if I wanted more I had a fireplace. Perfect sleeping weather with it snowing and the windows open. Aforementioned women seem to disagree.

[Brad Johnson]

You get use to it

You may learn to tolerate it but "tolerating" and "liking" aren't synonymous. Unless you're one of those people who like it warm, 78° just isn't comfortable. 73° +/- 1° is the sweet spot. If there's modest air movement you can bump to maybe 74° or 75°.

Campus instituted a 76° set point for Summer as an energy saving measure (which is complete BS on reheat-style systems, but that's another rant). Factor in a 2° swing on thermostats and it's actually a 78° setpoint which campus won't admit. It's never really "break a sweat" warm, but it's on the verge. It's not comfortable and contributes to all manner of personnel attendance, productivity, and morale issues. It's okay if you have a fan, but then you're dealing with background noise and trying to keep papers from flitting about your desk.

SWMBO and I are both 73° daytime, 67°-68° nighttime types, and that's with a ceiling fan and large pedestal fan going. We don't even turn on the heater until interior temps dip below low 60s.

Brad

[K Frame]

I generally keep the tstat at 72; I'll occasionally drop it back to 70 if it's really sticky humid.

I do have a ceiling fan in my bedroom and that helps a lot, no doubt, but I don't have any other ceiling fans in the house.

[WLJ]

You may learn to tolerate it but "tolerating" and "liking" aren't synonymous. Unless you're one of those people who like it warm, 78° just isn't comfortable. 73° +/- 1° is the sweet spot. If there's modest air movement you can bump to maybe 74° or 75°.

It's not the warmth that bothers me it's the humidity, as long as it's low I'm comfortable. When I do bump the AC down it's usually to clear out the humidity.

[zahc]

78 happens to be my setpoint. Anything else is too cold; 78 still feels like a refrigerator when you come in from 100+ temperatures.

People actually survived without air conditioning at all you know. I'm not saying we should go back to that because modern technology is great but pretending 78 degrees is oppressive is kind of laughable.

[K Frame]

78 happens to be my setpoint. Anything else is too cold; 78 still feels like a refrigerator when you come in from 100+ temperatures.

People actually survived without air conditioning at all you know. I'm not saying we should go back to that because modern technology is great but pretending 78 degrees is oppressive is kind of laughable.

Not sure where you live, but it sounds like it's somewhere where there's generally not a lot of ambient humidity like there is here in DC metro.

It's not uncommon for the combination of heat and humidity to drive the feels like temperatures in this area in excess of 115 degrees.

The highest I remember was a few years ago during a horrific summer... the feels like in the area topped out in excess of 125.

That combination of heat and humidity can be fatal to people even if they aren't exerting themselves and even if they aren't in the sun. Those kind of humidity levels make it virtually impossible for the body to effectively cool itself.

There were solid reasons why some European nations considered a diplomatic/military posting to the DC area to be a tropical posting.

[Brad Johnson]

People actually survived without air conditioning at all you know. I'm not saying we should go back to that because modern technology is great but pretending 78 degrees is oppressive is kind of laughable.

Survived, yes. Enjoyed, doubtful.

78 isn't oppressive but it is uncomfortable for most. Uncomfortable people tend to be grouchy people, especially when the discomfort is inescapable.

Brad

[WLJ]

You may learn to tolerate it but "tolerating" and "liking" aren't synonymous. Unless you're one of those people who like it warm, 78° just isn't comfortable. 73° +/- 1° is the sweet spot. If there's modest air movement you can bump to maybe 74° or 75°.

Getting used to it IMHO means being comfortable at that temp

[RoadKingLarry]

My wife prefere the AC set somewhere between "glaciate" and "nuclear winter" during the Summer months.

[Ben]

People actually survived without air conditioning at all you know.

People survived lots of stuff (and died from lots of stuff) before the euro-white patriarchy brought us technology, convenience, and comfort. 

[French G.]

The avionics shops on the carriers were usually fit to wear a winter coat in even in the Persian gulf in August. That’s where I would be if money were no object. Granted I work in a non AC environment but at the end of the day the car ac runs until hypothermia is a possibility. Wish I never had to leave my mountain home, this flatlands weather is BS.

[HankB]

I find indoor 78 is tolerable if humidity is low, the ceiling fan is running, and I'm not doing any physical work more demanding than changing TV channels with the remote. If I'm moving around at all - cooking, housework, whatever - uh uh.

. . . I have no doubt that if we were to investigate, we'd find that the f*expletive deleted*tards who write articles like this don't come even remotely close to standing up to what they claim is the PROPER way of doing things . . .

I wouldn't bet against you on that. Back during, IIRC, the Carter days, my employer's gnomes came in over the weekend in mid winter (MINNESOTA mid winter) and locked all building thermostats down at 65. They also distributed rules that specifically prohibited space heaters, heated chair cushions, etc. ("Du is goink to be cold, und du vill LIKE it!") Meanwhile, corporate executive offices on campus were maintained at a balmy 74.

With an allen wrench I "unlocked" the thermostat in my office. My immediate supervisor wasn't happy . . . but after 2 hours at his desk, he came and asked me to "fix" the thermostat in his office. Within a few days, all the thermostats in labs and engineering spaces were similarly "fixed." Never heard a word of pushback, either. 

[RocketMan]

Getting used to it IMHO means being comfortable it's tolerable at that temp

Fixed it for you.

[grampster]

Swmbo and I don't mind a little heat even with a bit of humidity as long as we have a breeze.  We keep a lot of windows open and a ceiling fan in the great room.  The basement is a finished walkout and I run a dehumidifier and it's always pretty cool down there.  When we get up to around 85+ outside, humid, and the breeze drops off, I'll turn on the AC and keep it at 77.  That's very comfortable.

[JTHunter]

I use a "5 + 2" programmable thermostat.  The program settings for summer are from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., it is set for 68 deg.  From 10-4 p.m. it is set for 72.  At 4, it drops back to 68 until 10 p.m.  Then it goes back to 72.  The ceiling fan in the "dining room" is rarely used but the 30" in my "office" is on high right now.  Later tonight, when the AC kicks back on, it will be set at   Low.
The fan in the bedroom is over the foot of the bed and is always set to blow downwards.  During the summer, it is always on high and in the winter it is on low.  I sleep better when there is some air movement, regardless of the temperatures.
Now the settings in winter are quite different.  The setting goes up to 70 from 7-10 a.m., then drops to 65 until 4 p.m.  As I am usually cooking and moving in the evenings, at 4p.m., it only goes to 68, then drops to 62 at 10p.m.  My gas furnace is an older model and "80%" efficient - or so I'm told.  It still uses the galvanized flue pipes, not PVC.  The problem is that if it goes on during the night, between the inducer motor then the 4 burners sounding like a jet's afterburners, it wakes me up.  So I let it get cold.
The main reason I prefer it colder is I'm ~40 lbs. overweight - I.E. - I have too much of my own "insulation".  Fortunately, when I had a new roof put on several years ago, I also added blown-in fiberglass added to the attic.  Even with this heat, the AC has yet to kick on before 4 p.m. or between 10 and 7 a.m. 

[K Frame]

Overnight my AC is on 72. When I leave for work I set it up to 80.

Most days when I get back the temperature in the living room, at the back of the house, has rarely go above 75 or 76.

In the front of the house, which take a good deal more sun, it's warmer. And it's several degrees warmer upstairs.

That's all courtesy of the insulation I put in back in 2010 in the attic. Took it from what MIGHT have been an R-11 to at least an R-49.

The only problem with that? The humidity skyrockets in the house during the day, courtesy of living in one of the world's great urban swamps.

[Kingcreek]

1979 I transferred colleges and got a small efficiency apartment off campus. Utilities were included in the rent. Everything electric. Thermostat was visible behind a locked and fortified clear plastic housing. No adjustments possible.
However, while stingy management “set” the temp, a smart renter discovered that hanging a bag of ice over it in winter and thoroughly ventilating it with a hot hair dryer in the summer could bring about any desired result.

[Cliffh]

We keep the t-stat set at 74 until ~1/2 hour before bed - whatever time that may be - then it goes down to 68.  We have ceiling fans in all the major rooms, they're going on low all year round.

Unfortunately, two of the living room windows, each @ 4'x4', face west, with no natural shade.  I've built a frame that starts at the back corner and runs down the side of the house to the back porch (past the living room and spare bedroom windows).  Most years, depending on available time & physical health, I'll cover the frame with a tarp to provide shade.

The tarp isn't a great solution, there's a problem when the wind picks up.  Been mulling over different methods of covering it that'll provide shade and not try to fly away during a summer storm.  While I'm a very good procrastinator, it will get a permanent cover some day.

[K Frame]

I put insulated black out curtains in my bedroom for two reasons...

First is that they help cut down on heat loading from the afternoon sun that hits the front of my house pretty hard.

Second is that with me getting up so early (between 4:30 and 5 a.m.) I go to bed when it's still pretty light out.

[Cliffh]

Fortunately, our bedroom window faces east.  If it didn't, there would be some heavy curtains on it.  Getting up at 4am means a bedtime before the sun goes down.

I'd put blackout curtains in the living room, but SWMBO likes the light.  So light weight curtains it is.  (She tolerates the tarp shading).