Air conditioning this summer

[Brian-And-Jennie0]

What do fellow Angelenos do during the summer about AC? I want my guests to be comfortable but don't want to kill my air conditioning bill. I also believe that most guests will not be home during the warmest hours of the day (say 10am to 4pm). I don't want guests fiddling with my thermostat. Also, slightly concerned about guests opening windows and letting in hot air while AC is on. How do folks navigate this? 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Brian-And-Jennie0 very good question I would also like to hear some ideas how to prevent AC misuse

For now the only solution we found is to give our guests thin bed covers during summer to prevent them to overuse AC during the night (they often tend to cool the place on 20 C (68 F) constantly and then use all extra bed covers.

Interesting is that during winter they heat the place on 23 C (74 F) or more ! (We have notes with C to Farenheit conversion so there is no excuse for not knowing.)

I have to tell that Americans misuse AC more than any other nation even when they could easily adjust the themperature by simply opening the windows at morning and evening and put the blinds down early afternoon... or just use a ventilator. 

I've heard about some AC systems which allows you to preset temperature so guests can not change it and some solutions where you can adjust the temperature using WIFI from the distance and I would like to hear some info about it.

[Diana25]

For my places I clearly state in the house manual "for summer guests" please keep AC on at least 75 degrees at all times, because it takes more energy to re cool the place down if they turn the Ac off entirely. also I label on the windows "do not open windows while Ac is on" To prevent hot air from coming in. Ultimately they will do what they want. I do mention to conserve energy etc, but I want guests to be comfortable most of them are compliant.
You could also set your thermostats at a certain temp and lock the setting.

Overall I think it's completely acceptable to state what you do and do not want them to do while they are staying in your space in a nice way. Everyone seems to be cooperative. Good luck!

[Juani5]

For how many hours should the guests use the aircom? Some guests leave the air conditioning and lights on when they go out, even though i ask them to turn it off when they go out for the day. I am concerned about the high cost of such heavy use and about being able to cover the cost from the guests fees.

[Amy158]

This is the problem I am having right now. I bought a WiFi thermostat where I can set a minimum temperature for AC. I currently have it set where they can put it no lower than 72. But, even that is driving me crazy. I rent out rooms in my home and work up to the 72 degrees and was cold.

I need to be more clear to turn the AC up when guests are not home. Running the AC at 74 during the day when no one is home is a real strain on the electic bill. Is anyone else using a smart thermostat and setting it to the Automatic mode where it know if you are at home or away? How is that working for you?

[Dee33]

I control the thermostat at my house. I place electric fans in each room and advise guests to use them if the room becomes too warm. In the winter I give them electric blankets. This has worked well. 

I am still working on the problem of guests taking 30 minute showers, tho! Guess I will have to place a sign in the bathrooms.

[Valerie192]

Hi All - Joining this thread belated but hope to get some thoughts. I am also in So Cal, close enough to the beach that A/C is not standard at all but not so close to the  beach that we get any kind of cooling ocean breeze. So my house tends to be quite uncomfortable during the summer months. With this particularly warm summer, I have been fairly miserable and I feel really bad for my guests too. I finally broke down and am having ductless units installed - so in the guest bedroom there will be 1 and in the main living area there will be 1. I appreciate the advice above about how to coach guests around usage. 

To my main question - given most of my fellow hosts where I live do NOT have A/C and essentially this becomes a premium amenity, how much extra do you think I could charge and what is best way to speak to this competitive advantage without actually encouraging abuse of the A/C? Not sure if that is even possible. Additional context - most rooms with shared bathroom which is what I offer go for around $45-$60 where I live. I am currently in the middle range there. Thank you!!