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.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

70 F must be enough, guests usually heat during the winter on 70-77 F... or even more so everything below 70 in the summer is just pure overuse, we should think about our planet as well

I don't use AC until outside temp is below 95 F... and then I set it to 79 for just a couple of hours.

[Sarah977]

@Ron7053  I like warmth, and don't like AC. So I wouldn't use it at all 🙂 If it were hot out, I'd open windows and use a fan.

But 68 would seem to be reasonable to me for as low as guests can set it. 

I can never understand why when cold winter weather drags on, people wish it would be summer already, and then when it does finally get warm, they turn the AC down to frigid temps as if they wish it was winter.

[Helen427]

Welcome to ABB CC @Ron7053 from across the lands and oceans in Auckland, New Zealand.

You folk in America are fixated on Aircon, and it has flow on impacts on one's overall health.

Maybe help encourage your Guests to go for Open Windows on hot sunny days to let the ventilation through, it's much healthier for one's lungs!

If your home is positioned to the North, you should get early morning sun so it should be warm throughout the day until it disappears from that side of your home - which is another factor to take into account when setting your Air Con temperatures...the cooler side of your home that perhaps doesn't get the sun, may need it set higher.

Over here in New Zealand we use Celsius  and personally I prefer the temperature to be around 20 degrees and open windows to let natural temperatures in.

I'm at wits end why Public Transport and Banks set there Air Con in 16 degrees in Summer.

As an aside, may I ask, how often do you get your Air Con units cleaned?

All the best

[Fred13]

72 usually (or may) suffice with fans; there are some low power/very quiet 'hurricane', wall-mount fans (30 watt) that work very well with A/C. In fact, the combination of A/C and a complimentary correct fan is imperative.

[Bruce172]

I’m frustrated. I set my ac to 72 for my guests. The current guest set it to 62 and have left the house all day. This seems wrong. Any one agree? What should I do?

[Lorna170]

Get a thermostat that you can lock to a range.  Set an upper and lower limit.  There are so many guests who don't care what the bill may be, they just want immediate COLD ... and then they never touch it again while they go about their business.

[Becky488]

I totally agree with you.  We just opened our air bnb 13 days ago and our first guest is 5 guys and they have had our ac down to 65 and left it and left the house for the day.  I have a wifi Thermostat and i can see what they have it set to. It is very frustrating and I wasn't sure If  I was over reacting. But I am seeing that this is common.  These guys are there for 14 days we have another 6 days until the they check out.  Also my listing says no smoking 🚭.  After they booked the lady that did the booking said I see you say no smoking is it ok if they smoke outside. My boyfriend said that would be ok. If they smoked outside and not in the house.  And he put a table with a butt can in the back yard. I can see from the ring doorbell that they are smoking outside the front door and flicking the still lit buts in the yard on the grass.  OMG 😲 

[John5097]

Wow.. I thought 70 would be freezing.. but 68 and 64..   is this the polar bear club? For the AC? At 70 I would need at least 3 blankets at night. Maybe its different. I did read several articles that said not to turn AC down below 70. In our very humid climate, sometimes 100%, it could freeze the coils on the air handlers. I do state in my listing its about 72-73 and to just let me know if they want to adjust it. Only a few times have guest wanted it 69 at night. I don't think they relize how cold it will feel because the AC runs a lot so extracts more humidity. I don't care about how much it cost as its already very efficient. I'm not aware of anyone who turns it down below 70. All the listings I read say no lower than 72. EPA suggest 78. I used to keep it at 78 with 50% humidity  but keep it a little lower now. Only 2-3 guest have messaged to change it, one wanting it warmer.