Is It Cheaper to Leave Your Air Conditioner on All Day in Inverness, FL

It’s hard to get through a typical summer day here in Inverness, FL, without your air conditioner. Without it, your home tends to get uncomfortable quickly. However, air conditioners are also the biggest consumers of power in most homes, so most people are conscious of how they use theirs.

So, what’s the right way to use an air conditioner without racking up the bills? Is it cheaper to leave your air conditioner on all day, or should you shut it down when you’re away from home?

As the top choice for AC repair in Inverness, FL, this is one of the questions we hear frequently. We can authoritatively tell you that the answer is a yes, but with a caveat. You should never leave the air conditioner running non-stop all through the day.

Why Leaving Your Air Conditioning Unit on Saves You Money in Inverness, FL

Air conditioners are great at maintaining the temperature and humidity levels inside your home. That’s an ultra-necessary job in this climate. When you shut the unit down completely for a long time (while you’re at work, perhaps), your home will heat up quickly.

When you return home and turn the air conditioner back on, the unit will need to run longer cycles for up to five hours to get your home feeling comfortable again. Now, this presents two challenges.

First, turning the thermostat all the way down to cool your home faster does more harm than good to the HVAC system. It puts a lot of strain on the components. Secondly, you’ll end up running your air conditioner for too long during the peak hours for electricity rates here in Inverness, FL.

Conversely, running your air conditioner all day on the right settings can boost energy efficiency while keeping your home comfortable. When you return, you won’t have to wait too long for your home to become comfortable again.

How To Save Money While Your Air Conditioner Is Running All Day

Is it cheaper to leave your air conditioner on all day? Yes, but as we mentioned above, you can only save money by doing this by setting the right temperatures. Many industry experts agree that the sweet spot is 78 degrees.

Setting your thermostat to 78 degrees will keep your air conditioner from running all the time while still keeping humidity and temperature levels under control. When you return home, you can turn the thermostat down to 68 degrees.

The air conditioner will not have to work too hard to cover that temperature difference. If you’re going away for longer periods, say more than a day, you should raise the thermostat to 85 degrees.  

One problem most people have with following this advice is that it’s not always easy to remember to change the thermostat settings as you rush out for the day. Thankfully, there’s a solution.

Introducing Programmable Thermostats

Modern programmable thermostats save you a lot of time because you get to set the temperature schedules once, and the unit will keep switching the settings up and down exactly when you want it to.

Smart variants take things even further by allowing you to control the temperature from anywhere.

Programmable thermostats cost a few hundred dollars, but they can save you thousands on energy bills and repair costs over the lifespan of your air conditioner.

Other Benefits of Leaving Your AC on All Day

Most people asking, “Is it cheaper to leave your air conditioner on all day?” are only thinking about energy savings. However, adopting this habit can save you money in other ways.

Prevent Mold and Mildew Growth

Mold and mildew thrive in high-humidity environments. Setting your air conditioner to run intermittently throughout the day will keep the humidity levels from rising high enough to encourage the growth and spread of mold and mildew.

Discourage Pest Infestations

Many insect pests love warm and humid spaces. Species like cockroaches actually need such an environment to hatch their eggs. Keeping your air conditioners running at the recommended managed levels will keep these eggs from becoming viable, saving you from an infestation.

Protect Your Flooring and Other Wooden Components

Excessive humidity is also bad for the wooden parts of your home. Natural wood doesn’t do well in the presence of humidity. Therefore, turning off your air conditioner completely increases the risk of floor warping and wood rot across your property.

Rotten wood attracts more damaging pests like termites.

Think about how much it would cost to redo your flooring or repair rotten joists, and you’ll agree that it’s certainly cheaper to prevent such damage in the first place.

Maintain Your Insulation

High humidity levels can weaken caulking and other insulation materials, making your home less efficient than it should be.

When Does It Make Sense To Leave Your AC Running All Day at Full Blast When You’re Away?

Generally, you should leave your air conditioner running normally all day while you’re away if there’s a justifiable reason to do so.

For example, you should ensure your home is very comfortable if leaving your pets behind. You need to ensure your home stays comfortable enough for them.

Similarly, if you have sensitive gadgets, medications, etc., you’ll want to make sure you maintain the right temperature for them.

The cost of allowing your pets to suffer heat stroke or allowing your sensitive equipment to suffer damage will certainly be a lot higher than what you’d save from running your air conditioner at 78 degrees all day.