With temperatures in Texas reaching the mid 90s most of us are cranking up our air conditioning unit, but that could be running up your electric bill.
So the question is: does turning off your air conditioning unit when you leave the house save you money? The answer is no.
“Turning your system completely off is not the way to save money,”said John Brindley, vice president of Tyler Weather Makers.
Just to be sure, our fact checkers also spoke with Andy Meyer from C. Woods Company. Meyer verified that shutting off your unit could actually cause a higher electric bill.
“You definitely don’t want to shut it off and let all the humidity back inside because then the run time on that air conditioner is going to be, depending on the house, several hours before it catches back up again,” Meyer explained.
However, you can save money on your electric bill by turning your thermostat up to four degrees higher when you leave the house.
“Off-setting it four degrees is not bad and you could actually save some by doing that, yes,” said Brindley.
Using ceiling fans could also save you some cash.
“Even if you run five or six fans, they’re cheaper to operate than that air conditioning system,” Brindley stated.
VERIFY: sources
