Should I leave my A/C on all day, or shut it off when I leave and cool it down when I come home?

Basically with electricity prices the way they are, I'm wondering if it's better to leave my A/C on all day when I'm not there, or shutting it off when I go to work and turning it on when I come home.

Should I leave my A/C on all day, or shut it off when I leave and cool it down when I come home?
I shut mine off if I'm gone a long time. Leave it running on very low if gone a short time. Once you get the house cooled down, you can set it lower and not use as much power. Also, a lot of new units have power saver features, and thermostats that turn them off and on. New appliances are always more energy efficient. So replace that old dog of an A/C soon!
Reply:when im gone during day i set the stat to 78-80, if you turn it off, not only does the a/c have to cool the heated house off, it first has to cool the duct work carring the air into rooms. so then takes forever to cool, and at night dont set below 73 usually, its a cooler and easly maintained temp. anything less and you risk freezing the a/c due to lack or heat in air.
Reply:leave it on at a highter temp.maybe at 77 it will cost you more to cool the house
Reply:buy the outlet timers for appliances then set them to start an hour before you arrive thats a tip from the electric co
Reply:Best solution is to get a programmable thremostat. This way you can have it turn off when you leae and turn on about half an hour before you get home. you come home to a cool house and save electric when your not there
Reply:better to leave it on at a high setting...takes less time and energy use if you leave it on then to turn it off and restart it when u get home
Reply:A programable thermostat is a good idea. Also make sure you close ALL blinds and windows before you leave to keep the house cool. If you are going to open any windows when you come home, make sure you only open windows and doors that are already shaded.--don't open anything where the sun is shining in.
Reply:I would never leave anything plugged in or running while away for long periods too much could go wrong
Reply:You should never turn it off , just turn it up. That way it only comes on a few times a day, while your gone. it will maintain a temp much warmer than you have as comfortable( while there but doesn't get so hot that it has to run continually when you get home and put it at the cooler setting. That causes it to work harder (it is hard on the unit) and you have to sit in the heat that much longer waiting on it to get cool.
Reply:It has already been mentioned in an earlier reply but the best thing to do is just to raise the temperature setting when you are away and turn it back down when you return home. You do not want to shut it off all the way.
Reply:cutt it on aoutomatic. Put on around 72 or so. keep it at this year round to save money!
Reply:If you turn off the AC, when you get home you will 1) jolt the power back on. 2) when you turn it on, it will need to cool the entire room (and all its belongings in the room ) from a higher than normal temp and thus be on for a longer time at maximum for longer.





I would recomend highering the temp from 68 to 74 during the day and ease up on the cooling cycles. You'll save some $$ without the daily jolt and strain on your A/C.