My thoughts on the matter..

I have a dog.. So here in LA when we get to that time of year when A/C is necessary, I tend to set it to auto at about 75 degrees. This keeps the a/c from having to run all day long and also prevents the house from getting toooo hot for the pooch to stay comfortable.
When I get home, I knock it down to 72...

B

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A/C?! We have a minimal 4 zone, 2 compressor set up here on the mtn. Figurued it was cheap to put in when we built.
We had it on about 10 times per year for the past 3 "summers"...not yet, so far this year.

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Hey Chris, this can be a very subjective topic for sure. My recommendations are suited more for extended high temp weather, but maybe you can glean something from them.

#1 Buy a 7 day programmable digital thermostat (Honeywell).
The temps can be set at 4 different levels during the day (wake,sleep,leave,return). Best place to buy is eBaY. I have two A/C's (Dual Zone). First one I bought at Home Depot for like $109.00. Next one I bought through eBaY for $52.00. Lesson learned. Here is a pic of their top of the line. It's a "Vision Pro" touch screen. There are many alternatives. PM me for other recommendations.

#2 During the summer, set your thermostat between 78-80 degrees when you are home, and 85 degrees or higher when you are away. For every degree you set your thermostat above 80 degrees, you can save approximately 2-3% on cooling costs.
You can set these new programmable thermostats to have your place already cooled down by the time you return home.
#3 Replace your disposable or clean your permanent air filters at least once a month.

Hope this helps,

Greg

this is a great topic. I am wondering if there are any dual stage thermostat that work with the A/Cs units. I am guessing the blower fan (DC Motor) is wired wrong in our home as it runs at different speeds when the dual stage furnace comes on (correct) but at single medium speed when the A/C is switched on (WTF?..I would like it blow more cool air). Has anyone else noticed that? We recently upgraded from a 65% efficient furnace (old) to a 93+ and couldn't be happier.

I am assuming with the A/Cs all blowers run at one speed. Anyone seen different?

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What SEER rating is your A/C, 13 or 14+ I will assume?

Mick its probably the way they wired up the system. I know that in a friends house the heat blows at a slower rate than the A/C. Maybe its just a question of getting into the wiring of the blower fan and changing the wiring around? It sure would seem like it.

The reason that the fan blows slower when the heat is on is that there is a point of diminishing returns between the heat temp and the fan. If the fan blows too hard it will cool the heated air and be counter productive to heating the house. In the summer, the fan can blow as fast as it wants for the obvious reason.

Regarding the original question, my M.O. for setting my HVAC in the warmer months is to set the programmable thermostat to come on at 6 (an hour before I get home) and 78*. Then when i get home i lower it to low 70's. It's also programmed to turn off at 8 a.m. which is when I leave in the morning.

For heat it's about the same M.O., set it to about 60* when i'm not home, program it to 68* about an hour before i get home, back to low 60's at midnight, back up to 68* at 6:30 a.m. so it's warm when i get out of bed at 7, and back to 60* at 8 a.m. when i leave. The weekends are up to you and when you're in/out of the house.

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That is the issue. Perhaps you misunderstood. The fan blows SLOWER in summers than in winters. if the temp diff between the set temp and the present temp is more than 3 degrees, the blower starts at full speed gradually slowing down as the temp reaches the set limit when the furnace comes on.

In summers its one frigging medium speed. I want it to be FASTER..real fast. I know there are dip switches in there. time to open up the sucker.

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Sorry, I should have read it more closely.

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