At What Temperature Should I Set My Texas Home During the Summer?

The invention of air conditioning has not only saved lives, but’s it also just made everyone more comfortable. Although energy isn’t free, you as a homeowner with a thermostat have the power to determine just how comfortable you want to be or approximately how much you’d like to pay in energy costs.

While that sounds simple enough, when it’s 95 degrees in August in Mabank, TX, you may be tempted to turn your home’s temperature way down. If you’re wondering, “What temperature should I set my air conditioner at in the summer in Texas?” then this article is for you.

Type of thermostat

The best type of thermostat for you to use is a programmable thermostat. These thermostats aren’t terribly expensive, nor are they difficult to install, and they can save you a lot of money. A programmable thermostat allows you to preset temperatures at certain times of the day to match your schedule. This increases the system’s efficiency and diminishes its energy output. The following points assume you have a programmable thermostat.

U.S. Department of Energy recommendations

The U.S. Department of Energy’s official recommended thermostat setting is 78℉ in the summer. They also suggest that you set it 7℉ to 10℉ higher than your baseline setting in the summer, and the same amount lower than your baseline for the winter for a minimum of eight hours per day. This bumped-up or scaled-back setting is advised for when you aren’t home. A variance of 4℉ is proposed for when you’re sleeping.

Personal preference

This all boils down to personal preference and your own priorities. You likely don’t want to be sweating in your own home during the summer, but you also don’t want to pay a small fortune to cool your home each month.

With this in mind, there are a few things you could do. You could experiment with what feels comfortable to you, or you could begin with the benchmarks given by the U.S. Department of Energy and go from there. Alternatively, you could use a sort of endurance test.

Finding comfort through endurance

In the summer, you can try a method that involves turning your thermostat up gradually until you get to a point where you can no longer stand it. Once you reach this temperature (which could be 76℉ for the purpose of this thought exercise), you can scale it back one degree from there, putting it at 75℉. This can ensure you’re using just enough air conditioning to be comfortable, so you’re not spending too much on energy.

In this example, you could set your thermostat for 71℉ when you’re sleeping and 81℉ when you’re not home. This is but one method for striking a balance between your comfort and your budget.

Call for HVAC service today

Now you’ll no longer have to ask, “What temperature should I set my air conditioner at during the Texas summer?” But should you run into any problems with your thermostat or HVAC system, or if you just need a tune-up, give us a call at Ken’s Comfort Zone Air Conditioning. We understand how important it is for you and your family to feel comfortable in your home, and it’s our mission to make sure your system is able to meet your needs. Reach out to learn more.

Categorised in: Thermostats

This post was written by Writer