Summer cooling plans in the HOT southwest

[GoLowDrew]

Here is the lifestyle.Go to work in the morning at 7am. Come home at 6pm. Sleep at 10pm.What is the best cooling plan that's also cost effective:1. Hold on 78. On at 6pm to 72 Hold on 78 at 10pm2. Off all day. On at 5:30pm to 72. Off at 10pmOutside temp is about 95 degrees at day time. And want to have a cost effective plan when the temp is 110.Thanks

[JohnC]

Check with your local utility, they will have the best info. Tuscon Power and Light? Or maybe SRP or APS(I work for them). They all probably have a time of day plan, these will save big $$$ if you are willing to use them. I would not set the temperature more than a 5 degrees F increas while your away, it just makes it too hard on most AC systems to cool it back down, especially during the hottest part of the day. It will take an hour or so to cool down your place so set accordingly if you want it cool when you get home. A real cost saver before the monsoon season would be to use an evap cooler.We have indoor ainimals so we can't do the set back thing, we just leave ours at 78 during the summer.

[Kari]

Also, you sleep better when you're cool...so I'm thinking that turning the A/C off when you go to bed is probably not a good idea. I bought a really nice fan at Wal-Mart for $18 that pushes a lot of air and claims to be energy efficient. It's a Lasko "performance" 16" pedestal fan. The "low" setting pushes as much air as my tower fan does on high....it's crazy. That might be helpful for keeping cool air circulating once the house is cooled down.

[AzFusionGT]

For those of that are cheap, or cannot afford to keep the house at 72... I have a programmable thermostat that sits at 85 from 9am to 4 then goes to 82. At 9pm it goes to 80. I keep the ceiling fans on 24/7 and that seems to help keep the house semi cool.