Experts share the thermostat ‘sweet spot’ to stay cool while keeping A/C costs down

Summertime is here. Sun’s out, kids are done with school, and temperatures are on the rise. According to forecasters, Americans are headed for a record-breaking scorcher of a summer. Going to the beach, lake, or pool is one way to beat the heat; the other is to shut the doors and crank the A/C. But how do you lower temps without pushing your utility bill to an all-time high? For a lot of us, turning on the air conditioning feels like the equivalent of burning money. But when you get home from work and your place feels like a sauna, you give in and drop that dial down to a frosty 68 degrees. It feels great until the electric bill comes at the end of the month. Is there a better method that won’t get you cooked by your energy costs? The magic number your wallet will love According to experts at the U.S. Department of Energy, setting your thermostat to 78 degrees Fahrenheit is the golden number. That’s 25.5°C for our metric-using friends. Now, before you gasp and say, “78°F is the temp I use to get bread to rise,” let’s dig into why. Researchers say it’s the perfect temperature to balance physical comfort and energy conservation. In fact, for every single degree you raise your thermostat in the summer, you can shave up to 3% off your cooling costs. While it may be tempting to put your A/C on arctic mode to feel relief from the heat, a steady 78°F can slash your monthly utility bill by up to 25%. Then, you can fan yourself with all that cash you’re saving. A woman is adjusting a digital thermostat mounted on a wall. She looks focused on setting the temperature. This appears to take place in a home setting. What if you feel like 78°F isn’t working for you? Don’t sweat it. Those same D.O.E. experts suggest aiming for a “sweet spot zone” between 75°F and 78°F. The goal here is to find your personal comfort threshold. Remember: cooling off doesn’t equate to living in an igloo. Easy hacks to stay chill on a higher setting Finding ways to beat the heat doesn’t begin and end with your A/C. Let’s explore some simple, low-tech methods anyone can use to make that higher thermostat setting feel delightfully breezy. First, dust off your ceiling fans. Literally. Underused ceiling fans collect dust and the dust mites that nearly 20 million Americans are allergic to. Now that you’re clean, you can get cool! Running a ceiling fan creates a “wind-chill effect” that evaporates moisture from your skin, making a 78°F room feel instantly like 74°F. Just remember that you’re also trying to save energy, so turn them off when you leave. Next up, let’s talk thermodynamics. Air conditioners cool your home at a constant rate. Cranking it down to 60°F when it’s extra toasty won’t bring relief faster; it just forces the system to run longer. That kind of energy expenditure is burning a hole straight through your wallet. Finally, if no one is going to be home, give your A/C a break. Raising the dial to 85°F puts less stress on your HVAC, and you can adjust it once you’re home. Or, use a Wi-Fi-connected smart thermostat with geo-fencing. You’ll be able to program your system to know when you’re coming home and start the cooling process automatically. Stay smart until summer’s last stretch Summer may be winding down, but the hottest days often linger well into September, so these adjustments are still worth making before you put them away for the year. A few small changes to your thermostat now could mean a noticeably lighter bill when it finally arrives. And if you bookmark this, next June’s heat wave won’t catch your wallet off guard either. This article originally appeared in June. It has been updated.