Is It Better to Leave AC on Auto or Off?

When it comes to AC’s, most people are concerned with two main things- comfort and power consumption. While they are essential for conditioning our homes, AC’s can consume a whole lot of power and lead to high energy costs. Do you then compromise comfort to save on energy or should you prioritize comfort? The ac on auto vs off debate is thus a healthy one to finding a way of striking a balance between the two.

AC settings and their Impact on Power Consumption and Comfort

Setting the ac to “on”

While turning your ac “on” consumes more power overall, it can also make it the ac more reliable and keep your air cleaner.  Other advantages of keeping it on include:

• Allows for even distribution of heating and cooling.
• AC lasts longer since there are fewer starts and stops.

The downside to keeping your AC on is that the filters tend to clog quicker. Though doing its job, your filter change interval will have to be adjusted accordingly.

Setting the ac to “off”

Turning the ac off stops it from consuming power but it causes the humidity levels in your home to rise. You will notice also notice the stale air/humid smell if coming from outside where there is fresh air. When you finally turn it on, it will take longer to cool your home down.

Check this too: How To Reset Frigidaire Air Conditioner

Setting the ac on “auto”

The “auto” settings mean the fan turns on automatically only when your system is heating or cooling your air. The ac automatically sets the temperature and fan speed depending on the room temperature. This mode has less power consumption since it keeps the fan running the least amount of time at the slowest speed required for heating and cooling. The other advantage of keeping it on “auto” is the filter will last longer

The downside to this includes the many starts and stops of the fan that could wear it out quickly. There will also be less distribution of heating and cooling when the ac is on the “auto” setting.

When is the AC More Efficient?

Contrary to popular belief, turning off the ac when leaving home or not using the ac is never a good idea as far as energy and cost efficiency is concerned, unless it is staying off for a long time. This is because when you return home and turn it on, it will take much longer to cool it down and use excess energy.

It is most cost-efficient to leave your ac on auto while away. The most cost-efficient temperature to set it is 77-78F. It is cheaper to maintain the temperature, instead of having the ac run for hours when you finally return home.

An ac has different temperature settings best suited for various conditions or situations in your home. Knowing when to leave ac on auto or turn it off completely can help save energy and money. The preferred setting, in the end, comes down to comfort and power consumption.