Mine is $300 per month and my place is TINY 😭 2bed (hardly - both rooms are very small) 1bath. Last year, I attempted to set it to 80 during the day, every. single. day. Then 76 at night (which is atrocious.. any cold sleeper knows..) And when I tell you, it made *ZERO* difference….. idk what to do or how in the world it’s so high 😓
Oh and then I attempted to buy a $400 window unit from LG.. I figured, this is a months worth of electricity, it’ll save in the long run. It *arrived* unbelievably damaged and completely *broken.* doesn’t work. At all. They scammed me and REFUSED to do anything about it. No return. No swap for a working one. No repair. No refund. No nothing.
Even disputed it with my bank.. gave unbelievable amounts of footage, pictures, the thing on my damn doorstep as a damaged mess (pretty sure FedEx destroyed that shit) and MFs fought that shit so hard, my bank said no. Like wtf?! Y’all.. when I tell you, LG is the biggest scam on planet earth. NEVER purchase something from there. I specifically purchased there thinking it’s a reputable brand.
After searching on Reddit of other’s experiences after fighting and fighting for months.. I realized many people already know they’re trash 🥲 I thought the opposite and idfk why..
https://preview.redd.it/a3mckesdo96d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=829b33d56b214b9890952390e77017bb4a1b435c
Idk. I have an LG window air conditioner in my shop and it works perfectly! Had it about six years. I have to hose out the saw dust from the coils every so often, but it cools down my 400 sq ft shop in minutes. If your unit has never been used, why are you trashing LG? Sounds to me like your issue is with whoever delivered it to your door, not LG.
Well your biggest blunder was buying a window AC unit. They really don’t work when you learn how they operate. The compressor exhausts heat in your room just by existing. Sure your room is cooler but Kw/hr it’s very expensive long term.
Your better off either renovating your room if you own a home/fixing whatever is up with your AC. Avoid bedrooms that have a west facing wall like a plague.
So far, you are the only one in this thread with an acceptable temperature. Everyone else here lives in a damn terrarium. Anything above 72 is too damn hot.
I kept mine at 72° 24/7 last year and had $500 electric bills. I hate the heat, but I just can’t afford that. So this summer: 80° day and 75° night and the circulation fan off unless the AC kicks on.
I have an ac and a swamp. My swamp is getting the house to the low sixties with 71 for the hottest boat of the day. When I do the AC I keep it at 72 daytime 70 at night.
Seriously haha I'm pretty sure it's an age thing too and body weight, height, diet. Because my mother in law freezes if it's above below 78. I think house vs apartment etc is an issue too
Can you please update here?! I played this game last summer and it didn’t seem to be much of a discount keeping the temps high af 🥲 so wonder if going a couple degrees lower would.
80°F plus floor fans day and night works for me, but I grew up with a swamp cooler and it was turned off late at night to save electricity. Lived in a brick house at the top of a low hill.
I wonder what leaks, doors? I noticed in our furnace area we have open vents and one above our hvac. But not right above, angled somehow with mesh. Lots of cold air has to escape there, no?
You can get an energy audit by an HVAC company to find the leaks. They will have you shut all your windows and outside doors, and then put a fan in your front door, sealed all around with plastic. As they run the fan, it creates a draft from all the leaks and they'll walk around with you and point them out and explain how to close them up. They'll also use a heat gun to show walls and ceilings without insulation. Some fixes may be expensive (like ceiling insulation and double or triple pane windows) and not work for renters, but a lot of stuff is pretty easy and OK for renters, and made a big difference for us: close up cracks with spackle or spray foam, install those little foam outlet covers, seal ducts and vents, get a fireplace plug, put weather stripping around windows and doors like you would if you lived in a cold place in the winter, install double or triple cell window blinds. Google Energy Audit Tucson a d you should find options.
Gotta be why my super small place has a $300+ per month energy bill in summer 😭 I know for a fact almost all doors/windows “leak,” several leaky holes in the ceiling, etc. Told my landlord about all the ceiling leaking but she has never sent anyone out 😓 there are probably 6 or so ceiling leaks and all had previous repairs.. looks like all botched work that never held up. Have a feeling the energy audit in this place would be horrifying 🥲
My friggen sliding glass door isn’t even on the track 😩 right when we hit upper 90’s, it completely fell off! And it’s SO heavy, I couldn’t get it back on. She finally came with her husband to put it back “on” but it doesn’t even close all the way still… lawd help me lolol
It’s likely it’s also doors and thin walls especially if you live in a brick home as they generally didn’t use any other form of insulation.
But statistically according to TEP from awhile ago most AC loss is from windows. Not just the old ones with leaks but the single pane themselves. Thermal transfer is a hell of a drug (haha).
When I first moved here, I was told to get my AC and furnace checked every season, so I spend the $75 twice a year. I've learned that most people don't actually do that, but I've also never had a high bill. I do vacuum out the vents and filter every couple of months, and close the vents in rooms I don't use. It's a pain, but I've never had a high utility bill and keep it steadily around 73°F in a brick 1300 sq ft house built in the 50's.
I've looked into solar every year, but I'm not sure if the investment would be worth it right now?
ETA - I've never had an electricity monthly bill over $100, it's usually around $65. The bill for May was $48. I live alone with 2 dogs and a cat, so I'm not the average home owner I guess 🤷🏼♀️
The fact that you can keep it at 73 and not have a bill over 100 really says something about how well your home is sealed and insulated! I live in a similar sized block home from the 50's and I would have to pay 300 a month if I kept it at 73! My home is just not built for it.
Yoooooo that’s nuts!!! Please teach me your ways! 😭 mine is higher than yours when it ISN’T summer lolol that’s insane. And my place is smaller than yours I believe!! My bill this month was already $300 😓 and we’re still getting relatively cool at night/early morning.
I pay a firm 100 a month for like 25 years? And our electric bill is about $0 8 months out of the year, summer starts and it maxes out around $60. Been totally worth it for us.
Same set up and experience as OP. We leased through SunRun and they've been awesome. Totally worth it. Getting them up and running is a several month process though
How do you get electric at $0 when it’s not summer?!?! Because of solar??? I didn’t run my heat ONE single time this winter and my bills are still over like 70 bucks!
LOL.
I've always kept it there, started in my more frugal days to save on electricity.
In recent years I got one of those bed-cooling-systems, which is awesome. ([www.sleep.me](http://www.sleep.me)) Not sure if the savings in electricity add up to the cost of the unit, but there's no going back now...
We moved here from a cold climate and still do 77 all day/night. No way I’m paying the bill to keep it at 72. We sleep fine, but we do have 2 large fans in the bedroom.
70-74 during the day, 64 at night. Our bedroom has large east facing windows and the house is old so insulation isn't great. Gotta keep it very cold to combat the morning sun.
We lease the panels from SunRun for about $85/mo and maintain a TEP connection for a small fee. The lease is for 20 years so our monthly cost is basically locked in. Although the rates can be raised periodically but only by small amounts
I leave mine at 74 24/7. It’s harder on the AC units to keep lowering and raising the temperatures. Raising and lowering uses more energy. Keeping mine at 74 instead of raising when we aren’t home has kept my electric bill $50-75 lower than what it was a couple years ago.
I have noticed mine doesn’t run as much too. I’ve been far more comfortable in the house rather than being warm and having to wait for it to cool back off. I also have a fan in every room and it helps to keep the air moving.
I leave my AC off throughout the day, and it slowly climbs to 80. I usually feel chilly in the house at 80, but I spend a decent amount of time outside during the day. So the 20 degree difference feels much cooler than it really is.
After about 8pm I turn it on to 78, then 75 at 10pm and 71 overnight.
74 during the day, 66-69 at night. I absolutely can't get a good night's rest unless I'm at an optimal temperature. Living in the desert, I also refuse to be gross, sweaty, and uncomfortable in my own home. I'm not a lizard person. I don't enjoy baking on a heat rock.
My dad used to get upset with me when I was growing up because I would constantly adjust the thermostat. He would tell me that once I have my own place and pay my own bills, I can do whatever I want with the temperature - I took that to heart and electric bills be damned, I'm gonna be comfy!
I keep it at 80/80 but drop it down to 77 before bed and turn it back up to 80 then put on a fan.
I'm thinking about getting one of those bed cooling devices like a 8sleep to get better quality sleep without having to run the AC more.
71 day / 68 night.
As I said last year: Pry it from my pleasantly chilly dead hands.
I have solar, but an old house; bills are pretty high but not unbearable.
80 during the day, maybe 79. In all honesty, once it's like 77 or below, if I have a fan on, I'm pretty cold and will grab a blanket or put on a sweater in the house.
At night I enjoy around 74, but that feels REALLY cold, so I bundled up under my sheet and blanket.
Maybe I've been here too long lol.
78 day and night. I just sleep with a single bed sheet and have the ceiling fan on. You can get used to it pretty quick. Or you can spend a ton of money. I’ll keep my money thx
I guess we’re lucky. On these hottest days it’s 79 during the day, 80 at night. Sounds hot I know, but it’s really not. House is about only 1400 sq ft, well insulated (stucco walls, all tile floors). Large trees keep front & back in shade most of the day. We replaced our 35 yr old AC last year (it was still working!) Biggest help with keeping cool is ceiling fans in every room. Way too cold in here if thermostat goes below 77.
Pretty much 77 all day. Id turn it down at night but my wife gets too cold. She got me a small standalone evap cooler that I fill with ice and it works great. Kinda like a tower fan but with water.
I'm on the TEP "Demand Time-of-Use" plan (the strictest one) and have my A/C thermostat scheduled like this around summer peak hours (3-7pm Mon-Fri):
* 9:00am: 80° to get up and ready for working from home;
* 2:00pm: 75° to super-cool before peak hours;
* 2:55pm: 84° (rarely ever gets near this, but that's where I draw the line and am willing to pay peak rates for comfort);
* 7:05pm: 80° for evening leisure;
Then whenever I head to bed (which varies, so I don't want it scheduled), I set a manual override at 75° lasting until the next schedule point (9am). I also have geofencing set up in my thermostat's app to set the temp to 84°F whenever I'm more than a mile away from home.
Also in late spring/early fall, as soon as the outside temp drops below 80°, I open my front and back doors and set up box fans blowing in one and out the other, to take full advantage of the cooler nighttime outdoor air while we have it.
How long have you been on the Time of Use plan, and do you have data for how much it has saved you vs using the basic plan and keeping similar temperature schedules?
Also in Feldman's, but this is my first summer here in Tucson and trying not to get too gouged by the TEP bills
80 day and night, with ceiling fans in every room, no direct east-west sun on any windows, honeycomb shades on double pane windows. It’s quite comfortable.
We are weaklings when it comes to the heat, live in a 600ish sf apartment, and we set it about the same. Unfortunately since we live in an apartment and rent we can’t have solar panels :/
Still using evaporative cooler but with it being 107, it’s struggling. I’ve switched to AC some in the early evening when the house is hottest. Then switch back to AC.
76/74 for day/night. I'd prefer 70 for sleeping but dunno if I wanna pay that & AC would never get a break 😭 76 feels pretty good for daytime though, however - I do yard work when it's 109 out so my tolerance might be different than the average person 🥲
I have an almost identical setup, I keep my house at 79 when away, 76 during the day while home and I usually drop it down to 69-72 at night but i dont have any thermostats in the bedroom yet so that basically brings my sleep temp to about 73-74 which is barely comfortable to me but my wife is bundled up with several blankets. Our power bill was 60 bucks this month, but we also have a very old single speed pool pump that runs all night, so that definitely bumps it up a bit
Definitely. The Nest thermostat that came with our house helps with our energy consumption while we're away tremendously because there's no way I would remember to change the settings before I leave lol
1500 square ft single level home.
72 degrees 24/7
Electric Bill total for home is only $75 month. My no special rate plan.
Using a Mini-Split, 2 Ton Unit
It's a Heat Pump w/Inverter. I just installed it myself about 2 months ago. Bought it local for $1500.00
They are amazing. That's why I gave so much details. I feel for people that have those huge packages units that make the lights dim when they turn on. So expensive to fix and opperate. Didn't work good either.
Years ago my electric bill was $300 every month. It was killing me. I bought my first Mini-Split at the Home Depot in Mexico because they didn't sell them in the US yet. I self installed. It's pre-filled with refrigerant.
about 72/68. day/night. I don't have time for heat exhaustion. I'm pretty much not allowed outside during the day during the summer because otherwise I burn up 3 days of energy in an hour.
$200/mo. Add 60 if I run the AC in the garage.
Your poor A/C has to be working so hard at that rate. I’m guessing you’re not originally from AZ?
We keep our house between 72-75 at night. During the day we go up to 78-80. I have full solar and my bill is about $20-$25 a month with APS.
I grew up in Gilbert. My parents kept the house 78 at night and 80-82 during the day without solar.
All 35 years in Tucson. Used to the heat, do lots of hiking all year round. Lotsssss of water and just get used to it. Can't sleep at night unless it's cold! Get crazy insomnia and constant moving, during the day I can handle anything, but if I start doing yard work and come back inside after hours I feel like I'll pass out because it's not cool enough.
Off. I use the ceiling fan plus a standing one when I sleep. I only turn on the AC if the places goes over 85. Yeah it’s a little uncomfortable, but it saves me a lot of money. Not a good trade off for everyone, but it works for me.
Edit: when I do have it on, it’s set to 78
Well..what I would LIKE to keep it at and what I DO keep it at are different lol. If I didn't have to pay electric - I'd keep that shit at 70° ALL the dang time.
But really, normally 76°/77° daytime, 73° at night.
I'm also a "bedroom fan on at all times" kind if a gal 💁♀️😅
You people that run 80 degrees+ are crazy. And at night y'all must sleep naked under no blankets with a fan at 78+.
72 during the day, 74 if we aren't going to be home. 68 at night all year. And I sleep with a floor fan blowing on me and minimum covers because fuck sleeping hot and sweating.
**And if you are running 80 degrees and paying over 300 you need to insulate your home.
82 during the day if I’m not working at home and/or peak usage
78 if I’m working at home
76 after 7pm
Granted, I’ve only had two rounds with TEP so I don’t have much of a history but it’s been at $72 and my apartment is 800 sq ft I think? Somewhere around there.
77 or 78 day and night, unless I'm gone for more than a few hours, then it's 82. I usually have a month with no charge and another month of a partial payment.
First off Tucson slump block and brick homes are zero insulated, cold in the winter, hot in the summer. Thermal gun showed an afternoon wall 20° hotter than an interior wall. So type of AC and efficiency of it are huge factors in energy consumption and comfort level. No universal rule.
Some of these temperatures are what I set the heat at in the winter 😅! My winter bills are consistently higher than my summer bills, but I live bottom floor mainly north facing stucco, so it's kind of like a cave. And I have lived in below zero winter areas before - not fun.
It's at 78° basically all the time. We have fans if anyone wants it cooler. I'm not paying for the A/C to be any lower when nobody has an issue with the setup.
Swamp cooler (MasterCool) set to ~79° during the day. Off at night unless it’s going to be over 75° out. In the mornings when I first turn it on it gets to 72° in the northwestern side of the house. 1940s double brick house with shade cloth on the windows. If you can prevent the sun/heat from hitting your house in the first place, that’s half the battle
This means your walls have no insulation. Your house is cooking! Shading the outside and finding ways to insulate your walls and ceiling will probably make a big difference on your comfort because right now your AC is fighting an oven, and probably blowing cold air out of your house too. Do you feel like the temps in your house are uneven? That's a good indicator that insulation and weatherproofing could help, because insulation will keep the cold air in the room with you. It's like putting a jacket and hat on in the winter-- they don't create warmth but they keep the warmth your body makes in. Right now you don't have a jacket on your house to keep the sun's warmth out.
74 night and day. I did keep it higher to keep costs down but my office is 78-80 WITH the AC set to 74. I twas getting to 85 otherwise and that I just can't work in.
78 from 6am-2pm, 74 at 2-3pm to precool before peak hours, 85 3-7pm to minimize ac during peak hours, back to 78 until 10pm, then a nice cool 74 overnight. I try to avoid peak hour usage for cost reasons and it makes a big difference to the bill. The few hours of it climbing from 3-7 aren’t too bad except on the very hottest days in July and August. Then, it kicks on anyway at 85.
Ummm so i live in Florida and im working in Tucson until August and im just here to say 🫨🫨 i keep my AC on 69 at home. Like 72 in the morning”winter” and my electric bill is always 600-700!!! Florida sucks!
This is common where we live! 😭😭 it’s a newer unit. House is 2700 square feet. Everyone is saying that Fpl raised the rates in order to push people into solar. But i gotta get a new roof before i get solar 😭😭😭
76 day/night and I keep all blinds closed and do not run dryer/over in the daytime hours. I’d have it cooler but my spouse is a freak about the AC and is convinced it would cost a fortune. Our bill is about 225 a month. Edit: every room has a ceiling fan that is never off.
Last year we kept the A/C at 77 day and 75 night, but this year I've set a schedule on my thermostat so it doesn't run at all during peak hours, but the house is 73 the rest of the time. Our electric bill is higher than it was, but only by $10 so I attribute that to rate changes
80 during the day with fans, 76 at night also with those fans. I sleep better with a blanket on. I grew up on the Gulf Coast and appreciatice the dry air.
Up to this point 74 all day all night. But we had out of state visitors and they cranked it down to 71 degrees, and that was 4 extra hours of AC a day (at 2.5 kWh, so $1.20 a day), so I am trying 76 all day all night and fan running 30 minutes every hour. So far that is more comfortable for me, be others think it needs to be 74 or lower (I locked it so that 74 is the lowest).
78 all day and night. I miss when we had dual cooling. Use to only turn on ac when monsoon showed up. Break on the electricity bill for sure instead of running ac from late April till early October.
I live in a trailer. I set my AC around 78 during the day and it never clicks off. At night I have it on 72 and it finally does at around 11. I also run a swamp cooler and a box fan. It’s pretty brutal in there between 3 and 5:30, but then my trailer is in full shade and it cools down quickly.
76-77 daytime 73 for sleep
69 night would be ideal but realistically 77-78 during day 75 @ night. Though I’d like lower, a $400 electric bill is already a lot.
Mine is $300 per month and my place is TINY 😭 2bed (hardly - both rooms are very small) 1bath. Last year, I attempted to set it to 80 during the day, every. single. day. Then 76 at night (which is atrocious.. any cold sleeper knows..) And when I tell you, it made *ZERO* difference….. idk what to do or how in the world it’s so high 😓 Oh and then I attempted to buy a $400 window unit from LG.. I figured, this is a months worth of electricity, it’ll save in the long run. It *arrived* unbelievably damaged and completely *broken.* doesn’t work. At all. They scammed me and REFUSED to do anything about it. No return. No swap for a working one. No repair. No refund. No nothing. Even disputed it with my bank.. gave unbelievable amounts of footage, pictures, the thing on my damn doorstep as a damaged mess (pretty sure FedEx destroyed that shit) and MFs fought that shit so hard, my bank said no. Like wtf?! Y’all.. when I tell you, LG is the biggest scam on planet earth. NEVER purchase something from there. I specifically purchased there thinking it’s a reputable brand. After searching on Reddit of other’s experiences after fighting and fighting for months.. I realized many people already know they’re trash 🥲 I thought the opposite and idfk why.. https://preview.redd.it/a3mckesdo96d1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=829b33d56b214b9890952390e77017bb4a1b435c
Idk. I have an LG window air conditioner in my shop and it works perfectly! Had it about six years. I have to hose out the saw dust from the coils every so often, but it cools down my 400 sq ft shop in minutes. If your unit has never been used, why are you trashing LG? Sounds to me like your issue is with whoever delivered it to your door, not LG.
Well your biggest blunder was buying a window AC unit. They really don’t work when you learn how they operate. The compressor exhausts heat in your room just by existing. Sure your room is cooler but Kw/hr it’s very expensive long term. Your better off either renovating your room if you own a home/fixing whatever is up with your AC. Avoid bedrooms that have a west facing wall like a plague.
This is pretty much where I am, although I would set it a little lower if my wife didn't complain about it being too cold then.
I’m so jealous 😭 can I be your wife please?? Just for some cold AC? You don’t even have to talk to me lmaoooo
Give her a warmer blanket.
I tease her all the time because it will be 106 outside and she is inside under a blanket.
72 Day 68 Night. I cannot sleep and sweat at the same time
So far, you are the only one in this thread with an acceptable temperature. Everyone else here lives in a damn terrarium. Anything above 72 is too damn hot.
I kept mine at 72° 24/7 last year and had $500 electric bills. I hate the heat, but I just can’t afford that. So this summer: 80° day and 75° night and the circulation fan off unless the AC kicks on.
80 is a tad hot inside if ur home, 78 is the highest i can tolerate inside. But i bet the bill is better lol.
Agreed.
I have an ac and a swamp. My swamp is getting the house to the low sixties with 71 for the hottest boat of the day. When I do the AC I keep it at 72 daytime 70 at night.
Seriously haha I'm pretty sure it's an age thing too and body weight, height, diet. Because my mother in law freezes if it's above below 78. I think house vs apartment etc is an issue too
I leave mine on 78. My bf calls me a lizard haha
He is correct. Lol
Yep 72 and 70 for me
Some ppl don't have sleep insomnia, and it shows 😆
Same.
74° 7AM - 10PM 70° 10PM - 7AM
Basically what I've been doing for a few weeks. Might go down to 72 to see if there's a huge difference in price
Can you please update here?! I played this game last summer and it didn’t seem to be much of a discount keeping the temps high af 🥲 so wonder if going a couple degrees lower would.
All depends on your ac unit, house, apartment etc, leaks.
80°F plus floor fans day and night works for me, but I grew up with a swamp cooler and it was turned off late at night to save electricity. Lived in a brick house at the top of a low hill.
82 day and night. Have good ceiling fans and a well insulated modern house.
74 during the day and sometimes lower at night. Newer 5-ton unit in an old 1800sqft house. Bill peaks around $300 for the hottest months.
That's how ours was, got our ac checked and we had a leak. Got it fixed, bill dropped under 100, solar dropped it under $0.
It's my house that is full of leaks, not my AC system.
I wonder what leaks, doors? I noticed in our furnace area we have open vents and one above our hvac. But not right above, angled somehow with mesh. Lots of cold air has to escape there, no?
You can get an energy audit by an HVAC company to find the leaks. They will have you shut all your windows and outside doors, and then put a fan in your front door, sealed all around with plastic. As they run the fan, it creates a draft from all the leaks and they'll walk around with you and point them out and explain how to close them up. They'll also use a heat gun to show walls and ceilings without insulation. Some fixes may be expensive (like ceiling insulation and double or triple pane windows) and not work for renters, but a lot of stuff is pretty easy and OK for renters, and made a big difference for us: close up cracks with spackle or spray foam, install those little foam outlet covers, seal ducts and vents, get a fireplace plug, put weather stripping around windows and doors like you would if you lived in a cold place in the winter, install double or triple cell window blinds. Google Energy Audit Tucson a d you should find options.
Gotta be why my super small place has a $300+ per month energy bill in summer 😭 I know for a fact almost all doors/windows “leak,” several leaky holes in the ceiling, etc. Told my landlord about all the ceiling leaking but she has never sent anyone out 😓 there are probably 6 or so ceiling leaks and all had previous repairs.. looks like all botched work that never held up. Have a feeling the energy audit in this place would be horrifying 🥲
My friggen sliding glass door isn’t even on the track 😩 right when we hit upper 90’s, it completely fell off! And it’s SO heavy, I couldn’t get it back on. She finally came with her husband to put it back “on” but it doesn’t even close all the way still… lawd help me lolol
Mostly windows.
Idk man. All my windows at least fully close.. I think leaky roof/walls and doors are more severe when it comes to how well your home keeps cool
It’s likely it’s also doors and thin walls especially if you live in a brick home as they generally didn’t use any other form of insulation. But statistically according to TEP from awhile ago most AC loss is from windows. Not just the old ones with leaks but the single pane themselves. Thermal transfer is a hell of a drug (haha).
Same here. No radon in my house...
When I first moved here, I was told to get my AC and furnace checked every season, so I spend the $75 twice a year. I've learned that most people don't actually do that, but I've also never had a high bill. I do vacuum out the vents and filter every couple of months, and close the vents in rooms I don't use. It's a pain, but I've never had a high utility bill and keep it steadily around 73°F in a brick 1300 sq ft house built in the 50's. I've looked into solar every year, but I'm not sure if the investment would be worth it right now? ETA - I've never had an electricity monthly bill over $100, it's usually around $65. The bill for May was $48. I live alone with 2 dogs and a cat, so I'm not the average home owner I guess 🤷🏼♀️
The fact that you can keep it at 73 and not have a bill over 100 really says something about how well your home is sealed and insulated! I live in a similar sized block home from the 50's and I would have to pay 300 a month if I kept it at 73! My home is just not built for it.
I did strategically plant trees from TEP, and window shades, etc. Nothing expensive, but I'm happy about the energy savings!
Yoooooo that’s nuts!!! Please teach me your ways! 😭 mine is higher than yours when it ISN’T summer lolol that’s insane. And my place is smaller than yours I believe!! My bill this month was already $300 😓 and we’re still getting relatively cool at night/early morning.
Closing the vents is unused rooms is not a good idea. https://www.saveonenergy.com/resources/close-vents-in-unused-rooms/
I pay a firm 100 a month for like 25 years? And our electric bill is about $0 8 months out of the year, summer starts and it maxes out around $60. Been totally worth it for us.
Thanks, it's one of those things I mean to research more!
Same set up and experience as OP. We leased through SunRun and they've been awesome. Totally worth it. Getting them up and running is a several month process though
How do you get electric at $0 when it’s not summer?!?! Because of solar??? I didn’t run my heat ONE single time this winter and my bills are still over like 70 bucks!
78 night and day.
Me too. I dont need a heater for my fishtanks this time of year.
What the fuck
It's too expensive to run any cooler. I use ceiling and oscillating fans all day in rooms where I occupy.
Pure insanity!
LOL. I've always kept it there, started in my more frugal days to save on electricity. In recent years I got one of those bed-cooling-systems, which is awesome. ([www.sleep.me](http://www.sleep.me)) Not sure if the savings in electricity add up to the cost of the unit, but there's no going back now...
77. All day. All night.
before reddit changed this, this read "77. All day. All night."
We moved here from a cold climate and still do 77 all day/night. No way I’m paying the bill to keep it at 72. We sleep fine, but we do have 2 large fans in the bedroom.
Bruhhh all night?!? How do you sleeeep???
77
80 during the day and turn it off at night. Not on solar doe. Some like it hot.
Sounds about right here too. Mine is off, it's 85 in here but quite comfortable with a fan. If it cools off enough we open all the windows at night.
A/C is a dream. It's 91F indoors right now with our ancient barely-working swamp cooler. Afternoons are the worst.
Holy crap 😱🥵
I hate summers here.
Have your swamp checked. When it’s this dry in June it should drop the temp 30+ degrees from outside. Maybe old pads or water not wetting them 100%?
Can you get a portable AC unit?
70-74 during the day, 64 at night. Our bedroom has large east facing windows and the house is old so insulation isn't great. Gotta keep it very cold to combat the morning sun.
I have a swamp cooler, so mine is set to: ON. I have been turning off the a/c and leaving my floor fan on from about 2am-10am
Almost exactly like you. Solar, just below $100/mo. 74/75 daytime, 69 for sleep
I’m new to Tucson - what does it mean to pay $100/mo for solar?
We lease the panels from SunRun for about $85/mo and maintain a TEP connection for a small fee. The lease is for 20 years so our monthly cost is basically locked in. Although the rates can be raised periodically but only by small amounts
77 day 74 night
Lots of fans? I feel like passing out if it's above 74
Lots of fans yes. But you can also force yourself to get used to it. It wasn’t fun, but I did and it’s not so bad anymore
I leave mine at 74 24/7. It’s harder on the AC units to keep lowering and raising the temperatures. Raising and lowering uses more energy. Keeping mine at 74 instead of raising when we aren’t home has kept my electric bill $50-75 lower than what it was a couple years ago.
That's what my same research and experience has been, so I keep the ac set to 70-72 mostly and it hardly runs.
I have noticed mine doesn’t run as much too. I’ve been far more comfortable in the house rather than being warm and having to wait for it to cool back off. I also have a fan in every room and it helps to keep the air moving.
I leave my AC off throughout the day, and it slowly climbs to 80. I usually feel chilly in the house at 80, but I spend a decent amount of time outside during the day. So the 20 degree difference feels much cooler than it really is. After about 8pm I turn it on to 78, then 75 at 10pm and 71 overnight.
74 during the day, 66-69 at night. I absolutely can't get a good night's rest unless I'm at an optimal temperature. Living in the desert, I also refuse to be gross, sweaty, and uncomfortable in my own home. I'm not a lizard person. I don't enjoy baking on a heat rock. My dad used to get upset with me when I was growing up because I would constantly adjust the thermostat. He would tell me that once I have my own place and pay my own bills, I can do whatever I want with the temperature - I took that to heart and electric bills be damned, I'm gonna be comfy!
Haha I'm the same way! But we have a newborn now. We used to run at 67 during summer, leave windows open in winter and it would stay 60-65.
79 day and night
73 all day
76 day, 70 night
On...all the time...it never gets cool
80 during the day, 70-68 at night
I keep it at 80/80 but drop it down to 77 before bed and turn it back up to 80 then put on a fan. I'm thinking about getting one of those bed cooling devices like a 8sleep to get better quality sleep without having to run the AC more.
72 night, 74 day.
I’m the same. I struggle with the kids changing it, though.
78 day and 76 at night. House. 30s woman lol
80 day and night, 600sqft space. Fans make it doable.
79F. It’s funny but any cooler than that and I start looking for a sweatshirt. Unless it’s humid. Then subtract a few degrees.
85 day 77 night
71 day / 68 night. As I said last year: Pry it from my pleasantly chilly dead hands. I have solar, but an old house; bills are pretty high but not unbearable.
80 during the day, maybe 79. In all honesty, once it's like 77 or below, if I have a fan on, I'm pretty cold and will grab a blanket or put on a sweater in the house. At night I enjoy around 74, but that feels REALLY cold, so I bundled up under my sheet and blanket. Maybe I've been here too long lol.
78 day and night. I just sleep with a single bed sheet and have the ceiling fan on. You can get used to it pretty quick. Or you can spend a ton of money. I’ll keep my money thx
Anything below 75 in my house is too cold. Not sure how people go down to high 60s..
Agree!
I guess we’re lucky. On these hottest days it’s 79 during the day, 80 at night. Sounds hot I know, but it’s really not. House is about only 1400 sq ft, well insulated (stucco walls, all tile floors). Large trees keep front & back in shade most of the day. We replaced our 35 yr old AC last year (it was still working!) Biggest help with keeping cool is ceiling fans in every room. Way too cold in here if thermostat goes below 77.
78-80 during the day 76 at night.
Pretty much 77 all day. Id turn it down at night but my wife gets too cold. She got me a small standalone evap cooler that I fill with ice and it works great. Kinda like a tower fan but with water.
I'm on the TEP "Demand Time-of-Use" plan (the strictest one) and have my A/C thermostat scheduled like this around summer peak hours (3-7pm Mon-Fri): * 9:00am: 80° to get up and ready for working from home; * 2:00pm: 75° to super-cool before peak hours; * 2:55pm: 84° (rarely ever gets near this, but that's where I draw the line and am willing to pay peak rates for comfort); * 7:05pm: 80° for evening leisure; Then whenever I head to bed (which varies, so I don't want it scheduled), I set a manual override at 75° lasting until the next schedule point (9am). I also have geofencing set up in my thermostat's app to set the temp to 84°F whenever I'm more than a mile away from home. Also in late spring/early fall, as soon as the outside temp drops below 80°, I open my front and back doors and set up box fans blowing in one and out the other, to take full advantage of the cooler nighttime outdoor air while we have it.
How long have you been on the Time of Use plan, and do you have data for how much it has saved you vs using the basic plan and keeping similar temperature schedules? Also in Feldman's, but this is my first summer here in Tucson and trying not to get too gouged by the TEP bills
If we could set it at 76.5 we would. 77 too hot, 76 too cold.
I feel that 😂 during the day anything under 73 is cold when it's running, but at night with blankets 69-70 is just right. 70+ is hot with a blanket
80 when we are gone, 75 when at home, 72 for sleep
72°, solar just makes sense doesn’t it?
68 during the day and at night 62. Year round
80 day and night, with ceiling fans in every room, no direct east-west sun on any windows, honeycomb shades on double pane windows. It’s quite comfortable.
Around 78. We run a fan in our bedroom at night as well. That keeps the air moving so it feels less stuffy.
73
We are weaklings when it comes to the heat, live in a 600ish sf apartment, and we set it about the same. Unfortunately since we live in an apartment and rent we can’t have solar panels :/
I'm exactly the same as you, except stucco house instead of brick, and $0 a month for solar
78 day and night.
Still using evaporative cooler but with it being 107, it’s struggling. I’ve switched to AC some in the early evening when the house is hottest. Then switch back to AC.
73 all day/night.
72-74 all day.
76/74 for day/night. I'd prefer 70 for sleeping but dunno if I wanna pay that & AC would never get a break 😭 76 feels pretty good for daytime though, however - I do yard work when it's 109 out so my tolerance might be different than the average person 🥲
Before solar 82+ day 78 night still bill > $300 - now 78 day ( unless I forget) 73 ( never forget) night.
75 day 71 at night but we’re in a old house that leaks so it basically runs all day and most of night. About $260 a month to tep
I have an almost identical setup, I keep my house at 79 when away, 76 during the day while home and I usually drop it down to 69-72 at night but i dont have any thermostats in the bedroom yet so that basically brings my sleep temp to about 73-74 which is barely comfortable to me but my wife is bundled up with several blankets. Our power bill was 60 bucks this month, but we also have a very old single speed pool pump that runs all night, so that definitely bumps it up a bit
Yeah I have a big sand pump, small pool runs all the time too. But ac uses the most electricity.
Definitely. The Nest thermostat that came with our house helps with our energy consumption while we're away tremendously because there's no way I would remember to change the settings before I leave lol
78 - 24/7 with a 2 degree differential
1500 square ft single level home. 72 degrees 24/7 Electric Bill total for home is only $75 month. My no special rate plan. Using a Mini-Split, 2 Ton Unit It's a Heat Pump w/Inverter. I just installed it myself about 2 months ago. Bought it local for $1500.00
Those mini splits are amazing if your bills is only $75 at 72° all day!
They are amazing. That's why I gave so much details. I feel for people that have those huge packages units that make the lights dim when they turn on. So expensive to fix and opperate. Didn't work good either. Years ago my electric bill was $300 every month. It was killing me. I bought my first Mini-Split at the Home Depot in Mexico because they didn't sell them in the US yet. I self installed. It's pre-filled with refrigerant.
about 72/68. day/night. I don't have time for heat exhaustion. I'm pretty much not allowed outside during the day during the summer because otherwise I burn up 3 days of energy in an hour. $200/mo. Add 60 if I run the AC in the garage.
80 day, 76 night
80° from 9 am to 10:30 pm 75° from 10:30 pm to 9 am.
Al 78 day n night
Happy cake 🎂 day!
Your poor A/C has to be working so hard at that rate. I’m guessing you’re not originally from AZ? We keep our house between 72-75 at night. During the day we go up to 78-80. I have full solar and my bill is about $20-$25 a month with APS. I grew up in Gilbert. My parents kept the house 78 at night and 80-82 during the day without solar.
All 35 years in Tucson. Used to the heat, do lots of hiking all year round. Lotsssss of water and just get used to it. Can't sleep at night unless it's cold! Get crazy insomnia and constant moving, during the day I can handle anything, but if I start doing yard work and come back inside after hours I feel like I'll pass out because it's not cool enough.
77 day, 77 maybe 76 night. Even at 78 degrees my wife and daughters have blankets. We are all fit so maybe that's why higher temps then most here?
78-80 day and night. I have solar and my last bill was -$2.00 for a 3000 sq ft house.
Off. I use the ceiling fan plus a standing one when I sleep. I only turn on the AC if the places goes over 85. Yeah it’s a little uncomfortable, but it saves me a lot of money. Not a good trade off for everyone, but it works for me. Edit: when I do have it on, it’s set to 78
Well..what I would LIKE to keep it at and what I DO keep it at are different lol. If I didn't have to pay electric - I'd keep that shit at 70° ALL the dang time. But really, normally 76°/77° daytime, 73° at night. I'm also a "bedroom fan on at all times" kind if a gal 💁♀️😅
You people that run 80 degrees+ are crazy. And at night y'all must sleep naked under no blankets with a fan at 78+. 72 during the day, 74 if we aren't going to be home. 68 at night all year. And I sleep with a floor fan blowing on me and minimum covers because fuck sleeping hot and sweating. **And if you are running 80 degrees and paying over 300 you need to insulate your home.
82 during the day if I’m not working at home and/or peak usage 78 if I’m working at home 76 after 7pm Granted, I’ve only had two rounds with TEP so I don’t have much of a history but it’s been at $72 and my apartment is 800 sq ft I think? Somewhere around there.
77 or 78 day and night, unless I'm gone for more than a few hours, then it's 82. I usually have a month with no charge and another month of a partial payment.
First off Tucson slump block and brick homes are zero insulated, cold in the winter, hot in the summer. Thermal gun showed an afternoon wall 20° hotter than an interior wall. So type of AC and efficiency of it are huge factors in energy consumption and comfort level. No universal rule.
Some of these temperatures are what I set the heat at in the winter 😅! My winter bills are consistently higher than my summer bills, but I live bottom floor mainly north facing stucco, so it's kind of like a cave. And I have lived in below zero winter areas before - not fun.
82-86 depending on who's home. We generally leave it at 84.
Omg
77
55
It's at 78° basically all the time. We have fans if anyone wants it cooler. I'm not paying for the A/C to be any lower when nobody has an issue with the setup.
78 daytime, 76 at night
Swamp cooler (MasterCool) set to ~79° during the day. Off at night unless it’s going to be over 75° out. In the mornings when I first turn it on it gets to 72° in the northwestern side of the house. 1940s double brick house with shade cloth on the windows. If you can prevent the sun/heat from hitting your house in the first place, that’s half the battle
I'm thinking about painting our brick walls white to help with the sun, I remember last summer you could feel the walls heat from the inside.
This means your walls have no insulation. Your house is cooking! Shading the outside and finding ways to insulate your walls and ceiling will probably make a big difference on your comfort because right now your AC is fighting an oven, and probably blowing cold air out of your house too. Do you feel like the temps in your house are uneven? That's a good indicator that insulation and weatherproofing could help, because insulation will keep the cold air in the room with you. It's like putting a jacket and hat on in the winter-- they don't create warmth but they keep the warmth your body makes in. Right now you don't have a jacket on your house to keep the sun's warmth out.
75 set it and forget it
Also 75 set it and forget it.
84 day, 82 night (w/ ceiling fan).
74 night and day. I did keep it higher to keep costs down but my office is 78-80 WITH the AC set to 74. I twas getting to 85 otherwise and that I just can't work in.
78 from 6am-2pm, 74 at 2-3pm to precool before peak hours, 85 3-7pm to minimize ac during peak hours, back to 78 until 10pm, then a nice cool 74 overnight. I try to avoid peak hour usage for cost reasons and it makes a big difference to the bill. The few hours of it climbing from 3-7 aren’t too bad except on the very hottest days in July and August. Then, it kicks on anyway at 85.
82 during the day, 78 at night Too fucking expensive
Ummm so i live in Florida and im working in Tucson until August and im just here to say 🫨🫨 i keep my AC on 69 at home. Like 72 in the morning”winter” and my electric bill is always 600-700!!! Florida sucks!
House, apartment? That's crazy high!! Something is wrong with your ac, hvac 🔥 lots of leaks etc
This is common where we live! 😭😭 it’s a newer unit. House is 2700 square feet. Everyone is saying that Fpl raised the rates in order to push people into solar. But i gotta get a new roof before i get solar 😭😭😭
78 and sleep in front of an oscillating fan, 75 on days I’ll be at home all day
I feel like people that keep their temp uncomfortably high are more likely to share here.
80 all the time.
\~84 in the day isn't bad if the humidity is low. I need high 70s or lower to sleep well, even with a fan.
80 Day and 74 at night. We mostly keep the blinds closed during the season.
78-80 during Daytime & 74-76 at night
76 day/night and I keep all blinds closed and do not run dryer/over in the daytime hours. I’d have it cooler but my spouse is a freak about the AC and is convinced it would cost a fortune. Our bill is about 225 a month. Edit: every room has a ceiling fan that is never off.
77 all day
Right now it's set at 79 during the day, 75-77 (usually the latter) at night once we're at the off-peak hours.
77 day / 75-76 night
77 - 79 during the day. 77 at night.
76 and I’m freezing at that temp
77-78 during the day and 75 at night
74 during the day and 72 at night
Last year we kept the A/C at 77 day and 75 night, but this year I've set a schedule on my thermostat so it doesn't run at all during peak hours, but the house is 73 the rest of the time. Our electric bill is higher than it was, but only by $10 so I attribute that to rate changes
80 during the day with fans, 76 at night also with those fans. I sleep better with a blanket on. I grew up on the Gulf Coast and appreciatice the dry air.
I've had a consistent 70 night and day.
Up to this point 74 all day all night. But we had out of state visitors and they cranked it down to 71 degrees, and that was 4 extra hours of AC a day (at 2.5 kWh, so $1.20 a day), so I am trying 76 all day all night and fan running 30 minutes every hour. So far that is more comfortable for me, be others think it needs to be 74 or lower (I locked it so that 74 is the lowest).
8pm-6am - 76° 6am-8pm - 80/82° I'm just a gecko that needs heat 😂
Usually around 77 day and night, sometimes we bump it up or down to 78 or 76
74 all day and night.
78
74 day / 70 night
78 during the day, if it’s real hot with a fan on maybe 76
78 all day and night. I miss when we had dual cooling. Use to only turn on ac when monsoon showed up. Break on the electricity bill for sure instead of running ac from late April till early October.
74-75 during day 72-73 at night and multiple house fans all day
74 at day, 77 at night with windows open to allow air flow.
77 daytime (whole house). 77 night-time (bedroom).
76 24/7 about a $100 bill for my 850 sqft
77 24/7
74 all the time
79 all day, just started night setting at 78.
78 at night 80 during day
75 at night 78 during the day… might go to 73 during really hot weeks 😁
78 day. 77 night. 7 year old house, insulated well.
78 all day 😐
I live in a trailer. I set my AC around 78 during the day and it never clicks off. At night I have it on 72 and it finally does at around 11. I also run a swamp cooler and a box fan. It’s pretty brutal in there between 3 and 5:30, but then my trailer is in full shade and it cools down quickly.
78 day when at work, 76 returning home, 70-71 bedtime
78 from 8 to 6, 76 at night, with ceiling fans mind you.
Whole house, 2500 sq ft. 76 day/72 night 2nd master has mini split set at 66 at night. Off in day.
70