What are your thoughts on restricting thermostat settings?

[Frank-and-Jesse0]

I live in Central California where temperatures can reach 100+ and my guests have their own AC and thermostat. Lately my guests have been extremely inconsiderate and turning the AC to 68 and leaving the unit vacant, thankfully I have a Nest thermostat that goes into Eco mode when no movement is detected.

What are your thoughts on limiting the thermostat to 74 or 75? I also have a ceiling fan in the room for those who require additional circulation. 

Thanks in advance! 

[Alexandra316]

I use the Nest also, and I use it to set a minimum temperature in one of my listings. I haven't had complaints on it. However, my minimum temperature is 70: I think 75 may be a bit high. Have you looked to see what temperature your guests tend to set the thermostat to?

[Frank-and-Jesse0]

Hi Alexandra,

I have some guests who shut it off at 77 and others who turn it all the way down so it's hard to get a good read. The thermostat in our main house is set to 74 and gets pretty cold. I think I'll try 73 and see what type of feedback I get. 

[Alexandra316]

That sounds like a good compromize. I struggled with my minimum also: I personally think 70 is too cold.

[James3157]

I’d be pretty pissed to be limited to anything above 66 personally. I need a cold, cold room to sleep.

[Robin4]

@James3157 

Well James you would not be a good fit for me in our listing. 

I was an air conditioning contractor in my working life so I have an intimate knowledge of how Air conditioners run. I have set my listing cottage air conditioning to only run in a 4c temperature band. Anyone who wants to be warmer than 24c (75f) in the winter time, or cooler than 20c (68f) in the summer time is simply being an environmental vandal.....and they won't do it at my expense. 

On one end of the scale I have had guests come in on an 8C (46F) afternoon  and say how wonderful and warm the space is. They put their bags down and go out for the afternoon and evening.....but not before winding the thermostat up to 30C (86F) so they would have a lovely toasty warm place to come back to!

On the other end of the scale I had a couple from Singapore sleep all one summer night with the air con set at 13C (55F) so they could experience what it was like to sleep with a doona (quilt) on the bed!

If guests can abuse facilities, they will, their reaction is 'I am paying for it I will use it'!

The human body no matter what race or colour has a normal temperature of 36.8c (98F) and finds a temperature somewhere between 68 and 75 to be a comfortable temperature.

If you need to sleep in an ambient temperature below 66F I would respectfully suggest you alter your night time dressing and bed covering habits to suit the realities of your surroundings.

Cheers.........Rob

[James3157]

You may know how air conditioners work, but you apparently don't know how bodies work. Many of us produce dramatically more heat, and need more capacity to dissipate heat in order to sleep. In addition, most humans need covering of a certain weightiness (equivalent to at least a light blanket, but often a somewhat heavy one), or something that blocks airflow against their body in order to sleep. This is all normal.

This is from the Sleep Foundation, quoting the American Medical Foundation (you can find the same quote if you just plug it into Google)

"The best bedroom temperature for sleep is approximately 65 degrees Fahrenheit (18.3 degrees Celsius). This may vary by a few degrees from person to person, but most doctors recommend keeping the thermostat set between 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit (15.6 to 19.4 degrees Celsius) for the most comfortable sleep"

In my case, 66 is a requirement for sleeping at all in most cases. I've recently bought a cooling pad that goes into my bed that lets me keep the ambient temperature a couple of degrees higher, but in general, I just produce so much heat that any mattress I lay on will be extremely hot, generally well over 100 degrees.

All of this is of course somewhat subjective, but the main thing to keep in mind as a host is that no matter how righteous it makes you feel, you are hurting another human being if you don't at least disclose your thermostat limitations upfront in the listing. This is a matter of critical importance for many people. I don't think there's a problem with thermostat restrictions (and I definitely understand them from an environmental perspective), but I do think there's a problem with not letting your potential guests know what they're signing up for.

[Joshua1126]

Why are you even renting units, assuming at a high going market rate if you want to be an AC **?

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[Caitlin273]

First, poor choice of words. Second, electricity is expensive. If I have someone cranking it to 90, I will lose money on the rental. 

[Turk0]

Hello Alexandra,

I am so happy to see your message, I am looking for a thermostat which I can set minimum temperature. Can you please tell me which model do you have?

[Caitlin273]

Hi All!

I have the opposite problem. I rent out my house in Maine. Even on an 80 degree day, guests are cranking the heat to 85. With propane being what it is, I am practically losing money! Ugh!

[Kelly149]

AC use is certainly an area where either people get it or they don't. I think utilizing the Nest (or some other limiter) is a good idea. If you have standard settings or expectations of conservation from guests, those are things that should be written in your listing and in your rules.

[Frank-and-Jesse0]

Thanks Kelly, unfortunately not everyone follows the rules which are also available in a binder within their room. I have guests who constantly park in the wrong spot, can't open the lockbox, not wash their dishes, can't find the wifi code etc. etc. (Had to vent a little...sorry) instructions with photos don't seem to work for everyone. 

[Kelly149]

oh, for sure, you're right... but the writing it out is what moves the guest from kind of clueless to the "better suited to a hotel" and if you're going to put a limiter in place then it is better to have that written so that a guest can't be complaining to ABB "it said AC, but it only goes to 70, I want 55 & can't get it so I want a refund"

[Jerry-and-Craig0]

Hi, 

we are host in Palm Springs and can relate to your question. We have a standard message that is sent to quests in the summer. It explains that the AC system cannot be set lower than 75.  Our thermostat alerts me if it goes below this setting and it returns to 75.