My AC bill is going way up, and I wanted to ask a question about lowest setting on a thermostat?

[Ron7053]

Hi Everyone,

My AC bill is shooting up as summer is here, and I'm in San Diego, California. I have a big house that I am using on Airbnb. It has two AC units it is so big. I rent out the entire home when I do Airbnb. I want my guest to be comfortable, but they tend to crank the AC to as low as it can go, and whether they are there or not, it stays at the lowest possible setting for their entire trip causing the AC bill to shoot up dramatically.

I have the ability on the NEST thermostat to set a low setting so they cannot set it below a specific temperature. I wasn't sure what is a fair temperature to make as the lowest possible setting during summer?

I would appreciate any advice. The house does get hot in the summer, but I tend to put it at 75 degrees Fahrenheit and run my fans in the house, and I am fine.

[Ann72]

I would want it at 68-70 @Ron7053.  Can you raise your prices to accommodate extra expenses like this?

[Ron7053]

Hi @Ann72 

I could maybe raise the price a bit.

The issue is the house is pretty big, and hence I have two units. I can see guests crank both units down as low as they can go and leave them on night and day. 

I was debating on putting it to 70. I just wasn't sure if that number was too high or if I should leave it at 68 or 69? I guess my point-blank question is 70 acceptable? 

[Ann72]

@Ron7053  I bet that if you leave it at 70, more people would leave it alone when they go out all day.

Also raise your rates and try to get into the mindset that these things are going to happen.  Places just cost more to run when people are in them.  I get off-season inquiries for my place in Maine where people say they want to pay less because something is better than nothing, but it costs three times as much to run a place in the winter with people in it than with no one in it, so no thank you.

[Ron7053]

Hi @Ann72 

Thanks for the response. 

I do want to be clear my NEST Thermostat allows me to set a bottom floor. Meaning whoever rents the place can't set the thermostat below the temperature I designate. My question to you if I was to set a bottom floor, what is the lowest I could go that would be fair to the renter? Is 70 a fair bottom floor, or should I allow it to go into the high 60's? 

[Jennifer2682]

Personally, I like it a little on the cooler side and would go with a lowest setting of 68. I also have two ac units and dread the summer power bill! In my welcome packet, I say that “I try to conserve energy as much as possible, but please use what you need to be comfortable.” Not sure if that helps or not, but maybe just a reminder that it’s not some unlimited resource? 

[Lorna170]

@Ron7053   Setting it to 70 or 72 should make most guests comfortable.  I was just in AZ where it was over 100, and my daughter had the house set to 74.  We have two Nests in our home, and we have determined that if we run a fan setting schedule, we don't play with the temperature too much as periodic air movement makes us think it is cooling.  With a Nest you can schedule the upstairs to cool down at a certain time of day.  The Nest can also be set with a governor so the guest cannot enter a temp that is lower than we allow or higher.  All of this can be done on your smart phone.  (There are other smart thermostats besides the Nest.)

Be prepared for your guests to leave the AC cranking;   I have figured it into my nightly rate and that increase covers both AC in the summer and heat in the winter.  

[Ron7053]

Thanks for the response @Lorna170 

What would be the lowest temperature you would allow guests to go to? I know I can lock it on the NEST so that it won't go below that. I'm just trying to figure out a fair temperature to set the lowest temperature too? 

[Emilia42]

@Ron7053 That is a hard question. The lowest temperature I would want my guests to go to would be 72 degrees because I am the one paying the electric bill. But when I travel as a guest, the lowest temperature I would want to be able to go to is 64 degrees because I am paying a lot of money to be comfortable on vacation. So you can never win. 

[Ron7053]

@Emilia42 

Thanks for the response. I do get what you are saying about what you want your guest to set it to as opposed to what you want when you are on vacation.

But there needs to be a sweet spot that is fair. We are not huge corporations who can get infrared in each room to know no one is in there and shut the AC off. We are mom-and-pop Airbnb's.

So I'm asking what is a fair temperature to allow guests to go down to?  Is it 70 degrees, 68 degrees, 64 degrees? Technically my Nest can go to 50 degrees. Should I allow them to do that? 

[Lorna170]

@Ron7053   The Nest in our cabin is set to a low of 65 and a high of 80.  

[Michelle53]

@Ron7053    Temperature for people is very subjective. 

I have the opposite problem at the moment. I have an older home. My thermostat is on the first floor, my airbnb space is on the lower level, I sleep upstairs on the second floor.  I have the thermostat set at 78 degrees. There's about a  5 degree difference between floors. So it's about 83 degrees upstairs, and 73 degrees in the guest space. 

My current guest is complaining he is too cold, and wants me to bump up the temperature 5 - 6 degrees for him.  We're in a spell of 90 degree weather. 

I told him I'd give him a couple of degrees, but no more, and explained why. Luckily, the temps cooled off enough last night that I could comfortably sleep with windows open and ceiling fans on, and it was only 80 degrees in my bedroom 😉   

He's an unusual case - most people prefer it cooler. 

My point is - there's no minimum or maximum you can set and make everybody happy.   You'd have to be prepared to pay more in heating and cooling costs.

[Lorna170]

@Michelle53   You may want to talk to your heating/AC guy; your house is layering, and he may be able to show you how to set (or install) baffles in the venting that would allow you to direct more cool air upstairs.  Sorry that you have a heat seeker....they are strange.

[Michelle53]

@Lorna170   Thanks for the suggestion. My house is over 100 years old, and the duct work for central air was added sometime fairly recently, and it follows some interesting paths.   The upstairs duct work is actually in the floor, so I have to have the ceiling fans on to get the cold air circulating.   The vents can, actually, be closed.   I'm not sure my "heat seeker" would want to bother with that, although it never occurred to me to make the suggestion. I think he had the outside door open most of the day, today.  It's 86 degrees out at the moment - a bit cooler than yesterday. 

On reflection, I'm not sure I'd want a guest playing around with the duct work. 

[Linda108]

@Ron7053   I don't know the zones of your two AC units, but if one is for sleeping areas, I would suggest you lower that temperature down to 68 and keep the other at around 72.  Your area of San Diego can get quite hot unlike the coastal areas and may take a while to cool down in the evening.  Generally people will not be going in and out in the sleeping area so the AC will not work as hard as the active area.  Having suggested that, some people sleep very hot and may need a cooler temp.   Since sleep comfort is of utmost importance, leave it open for guests to request a lower sleeping temperature.