Technology ConnectionsI don't normally like being Mr. Grumpy old man, but it is currently 68° (20°C) and just about perfect outside, yet I hear a bunch of air conditioners running.
Consider opening yer dang windows, people!
The thing is, I know what's going on, here. Sure, some people want to keep their windows shut for allergy reasons, but it got pretty hot a few days ago so people switched their thermostats to cooling mode and simply stopped thinking about the weather.
It got to about 73° in here from insolation before I opened up windows, so some ACs would definitely be kicking on by now if people did the ol' set and forget
And THEN. Then there's those people who live such decadent lives as to put their thermostat in "auto" mode
This Midwesterner finds that lifestyle so foreign
Archie@TechConnectify Delicate flowers you Americans aren't you!
@Archie8 apparently even some of my fellow Midwesterners can't resist the temptation of complete climate control
@TechConnectify Unfortunately their climate control contributes to the real climate being out of control 🤨
@Archie8 well...
The funny thing there is that air conditioning is actually not that energy intensive. We are going to increasingly be using the same technology (heat pumps) to heat our homes because it's more carbon efficient.
In a climate like mine, way more energy is spent to heat our homes than to cool them. But, the electric grid is strained in the summer because currently most people have gas heat
Well....
AC is more energy intensive than not having AC at all.
There's no reason why AC should be needed at 20C
Delicate flowers!
Not you obviously. I know you're on our team 🙂
Jersey Gryphon@TechConnectify @Archie8
You also have to bear in mind that if you have a "heat dome" effect over your city, then running the AC is just making it worse.
It would be much more logical (esp. for apartment buildings with piled foundations) to dump the heat underground to be pumped back out in the winter.
You also have to bear in mind that if you have a "heat dome" effect over your city, then running the AC is just making it worse.
It would be much more logical (esp. for apartment buildings with piled foundations) to dump the heat underground to be pumped back out in the winter.
Alex@TechConnectify setting the thermostat to heat and cool to stay between 65 and 73 is worth every penny.
sqwishy
Chris 🇺🇸🇦🇺🏴@TechConnectify My air con is currently set to fan. Though I have insane insulation. So, I don't really need to do anything during the seasonal change over period.
DGP@TechConnectify I WOULD use the auto heat/cool mode but i honestly find it so unintuitive when I adjust it, to have both high and low to think about (at least in Ecobee's bad UI), that I just keep switching it back and forth. The spring has been really frustratingly back-and-forth here.
BiohazardIt makes sense here in Maryland, where the climate can swing wildly in the spring & fall.
It was recently in the mid 30's overnight, then just a degree or two short of 90 and humid the next day. HVAC in auto mode, so overnight the heat was kicking on, then by afternoon AC was kicking on.
@Biohazardous Or... Or... Hear me out here... You pick which is more important to you - not getting too cold overnight, or not getting too hot during the day. Then just let the temperature get a little bit beyond where you want it, as the outside temperature will bring it back up (or down) in a matter of hours.
That's how I think of it. I leave the thermostat off (or in whichever mode I want to prioritize) and let it get a little colder or hotter with an eye on the weather
Oh sure, we do that sometimes too, but here there are plenty of stretches when those lows and highs outside are too extreme for that strategy. And this area was swamp, moisture control is a concern too.
turnitoff_onagain@TechConnectify using auto would have my unit switching from heat to cool and back to heat all in the same day during some parts of the year.
Leon Cowle@TechConnectify I’m curious. What’s wrong with Auto? Mine is set to Auto. Heat to 69 (64 while sleeping), cool to 77 (80 while sleeping), do nothing in between. Seems to do exactly what I want it to?!
@leoncowle if your deadband, is that wide, then I don't really have much of an issue.
But see, when the weather is all weird and wild like it is now, I will leave the thermostat off until I feel like I need heat or cooling. That way, if it's going to get cold overnight but warm up the next day, the heat doesn't come on for no reason
@leoncowle similarly, if it's going to get to 85° tomorrow but cool off to 55 at night, I will just deal with it getting a little bit hotter inside than I normally accept because I know it's going to get cold again.
Auto mode, to my sensibilities, let you stop thinking about the weather at the expense of increased energy use.
But, how you have it set, I suppose senseless energy use is rare
digitalfox@TechConnectify @leoncowle I was reading through the replies to see if deadband was mentioned, and yep, same situation - 12+°F of separation between all cool/heat setpoints and using Auto mode.
I am checking on the excellent data graphs of beestat.io daily though to watch if the heat pump ever turns on needlessly. So far, it seems good.
Archmage@TechConnectify @leoncowle i do the same thing. Often I don’t use my system until peak summer or winter.
@TechConnectify yeah, it rarely comes on when I don’t want it to. It also helps that I’m in a newish house with excellent insulation, and I’m always amazed at how little internal temp drop/rise I get when the system is off.
E.g. with that extreme weather event here in TX in Feb 2021 when it went into the negatives for a week, we never went under 59 internally, even when we only had power for at most 1/3 of each day (rolling blackouts).
@TechConnectify @leoncowle My Fujitsu split has an eco/auto mode with a 12F deadband (you can’t change it, as far as I know). I have it set 68-80, which is a good hedge against getting woken in the night by an uncomfortable 2 year old child in a 100 year old house with no insulation.
dukane🏳️🌈@TechConnectify Auto mode frightens the hell out of me.
Yes, yes, I know you can customize the cutover temp and what not, but the idea that I would COOL my house in the afternoon only to HEAT it in the morning just seems dangerous and WRONG.
That being said, I just turned on my AC in dehumidify mode.
grahams@TechConnectify east coast elite here and I also can’t even imagine Auto.
Solarbird 
@TechConnectify This Cascadian has been working on an air-exchange based HVAC assistance package for a couple of years now.
This spring I've added automation and air-quality drivers. But really, I've got the bulk of the savings already - between that and an AC upgrade (to cover _much more_ of the house), I've cut our peak-demand electric use by 40%.
Like you, I'm not aiming for "Constant 20°C" - in winter, it's like 17, in summer, 23. But having never needed AC until the last several years we've all been making adjustments, and, well.
Cliff@TechConnectify Programmable thermostat with auto mode...
Below 65? Turn on heat.
Above 75? Turn on A/C.
Nighttime? let it get down to 60 or up to 80.
Simple.
Cuppa Truth@TechConnectify A conversation I have with my SO way too often (we usually have the AC set on 72):
"Can you turn off the AC, it's 68 and cold"
Me: but.... It's not running because thermostat is set to 72.
"Please turn off the AC, it's too cold."
Me:....................................OK.
"Can you turn off the AC, it's 68 and cold"
Me: but.... It's not running because thermostat is set to 72.
"Please turn off the AC, it's too cold."
Me:....................................OK.
J.P. Stewart@TechConnectify oooh. Thanks for reminding me. We have hot weather coming up and we were still on ‘heat’ mode inside.
We do open a window and turn on a fan most of the time also. It’s open/on right NOW even… it turns off once it’s over 68 outdoors though.
Visible Xela@TechConnectify I'm a Midwesterner, and this time of year I HAVE to set my thermostat on "auto," or else I'd freeze at night or wake up in a sauna
Mechanical Dirk@TechConnectify HVAC systems just need a way of running that simply pulls in outside air and blows it through the ducts. Maybe with a filter.
@TechConnectify Albertan here, our summer auto mode is to turn on eco mode in April and leave it there until October. This effectively turns off the furnace and we dont have AC.