Would Clark Howard generally agree with the stuff said in this article?
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When I leave my house for more than 2 days I just turn it up. The AC keeps the humidity down in your house. Which is a good thing.
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I went from 1 outside wall mounted air conditioning to 4 Mini splits systems and the installer said to leave them set and forget. basically to leave on they said by turning them off they will use more energy to get back to the right temperature. PS now I pay a little more but my whole house is heated and cool my summer electric bill is around 135 this month in Sacramento CA 1120 ft 3 bedrooms
I have a whole house dehumidifier for that. Central AC systems do not dehumidify as well, except for more high end systems with variable speed blowers and compressors. Dry air feels more comfortable thus you don’t have to set the thermostat as low.
The mini-split system are great. Yes, they are more expensive to install, but rarely require much service as seem to last longer.
One of the things that doesn’t seem to have been touched is what temps are we talking about. During the day I try to set it at 76 degrees and if I leave for several days I’ll bump it to 80. But 80 isn’t that bad with a dehumidifier running. But I do program it to bring the temp down before I get back at home. Try to keep your humidity at 50% or less to keep molds from growing.
I’ve had a similar experience with a mini-split system. Keeping it at a steady temperature has worked better than constantly turning it on and off, especially during hot weather. I usually make small adjustments if I’m going to be away for a while, but otherwise I let it maintain the set temperature. Keeping indoor humidity under control also makes a noticeable difference in comfort, so I don’t have to set the thermostat as low.
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