Air conditioning: My wife and are are having a disagreement about it. Will you help settle it (please real whole question)?

as for the AC lower does not cool faster..

as for who is right,,, has nothing to do with AC units -- you have to choose the point you fight..

If you want you can install a hidden thermostat and have the one she uses as dummy unit

BUT do not comment on this anymore to her

is this the hill you want to die on? women are wrong on such things 80% of the time YET 89% of the time men need to say nothing

so the 100% when it matters you have more validity

BUT if it makes you feel better my wife is very educated and had a genus of a dad on mechanical things she help him as kid -- and she thinks as your wife; it cools/heats faster at extreme setting

they do not know it as a goal -not a speed

we can quietly know we are right ,, there is no reason to say it out loud and create fights

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I will add - turning the AC off is a mistake

turning it up but not off ... the recovery from extreme heat/cold is more costly than adjustment to comfort

common mistake

best to set it at the chosen temp and leave it to end this problem both with her and the recovery

Wow, questions like this really make you wonder how most women's brains are wired.

We try to keep the A/C on 74 all day and night--- you do not save by turning it off and then back in the afternoon

Turning the AC completely off when you leave the house is not the right thing to do, and neither is turning it on at full blast when you return home. The optimum thing to do is to set it at a "tolerable" temperature--about 80-82 degrees when you leave. It might get a little warm in the middle of the day, but the air will keep circulating and it won't be stifling when you get home. You can then turn it down to 78-79 degrees, That's not too cold, and it won't put a strain on the compressor. An additional thing you can do is to run your ceiling fans while you're gone. We live in Dallas, and it gets over 100 degrees many days during the summer. This is how we handle our air conditioning. Same thing in the winter, only in reverse. Our "away" temperature is 65-68, and when we get home, we bump it up to 74-76, depending on how cold it is outside. (We don't have winter "extremes" here). This will save on your electric bill if you will be consistent with the temperatures.

Well, sure, most people know you're "right" about setting it too cold. But if you're letting it get too hot while you're gone, the same principle applies in reverse.

Instead of turning this into a circle jerk about why her logic is off, marriage is all about compromise. You don't even have the hard compromise some of us do! If I woke up at 52, I'd be happy. My husband is a swamp creature.

So solve the problem and agree on a reasonable temp to set the AC at. If it's 84 when you get home, something like 78 makes sense. It also helps your unit (although I'm talking about central. I don't know how window units work).

The thermostat doesn't set the temperature of the air coming out of the vent. It's either cold air or warm air. It cools one degree at a time until the desired temperature is reached.

That said, you're BOTH wrong if you're completely shutting off the AC during the day when you're at work. HVACs are designed for regular use, and those dramatic temperature shifts at the end of the day are likely causing the unit to work even harder than it has to. It could also contribute to increased humidity in your home, which doesn't help the heat and can contribute to mold. You're MUCH better off simply turning the AC temp up by 10 degrees when you leave the house. It'll save you more money and it's better for the HVAC system's health. Plus, you'll both be more comfortable when you arrive home.

It cools 1 degree at a time. Putting it down to 52 will not make the house cool any faster. I suggest buying a thermostat that you can program to come on an hour before you get home.

I dated a guy for a few years that was an HVAC engineer...

Setting it low like that makes the unit work harder and can damage the unit. Ideally, it should be set at about 74-78º for it to cool properly. Most recommend 78º.

That said, my husband (different guy) and I have that battle too. He likes it warmer, I like it cooler. I get hot quick (not at "the change" yet). When he complains it's too cold in the house, I tell him to put on a sweater or find a blanket and once I told him "my half of the light bill is hot".

We have a smart thermostat that we can adjust the temperature remotely. I set/change it as I see fit but I always make sure it's cool when I get home. I make it comfy for my doggies too, I can tell when one is hot because he will sit over top of the vent to get cool air. If I see on the cameras he's doing that I turn the AC on for him.

https://lenzmechanical.com/whats-the-best-temperat...

It won't cool it off faster. The air conditioner only has so much capacity. The temperature dial is a thermostat that tells the unit when to shut off. Instead of making it work so hard when you get home, turn it up to 76 or 78 when you leave for work and let it run while you're gone.

Fine some dumb womans website that your wife likes. Edit their text about the thing you want and show it to her

You are right. It can't cool any faster than it does when set at a higher temperature. It only gets colder.