An alternative AC setting method if your have time-of-use electricity rates that are more expensive in the late afternoon and early evening (when rates are highest due to heaviest AC use and other home use) is to set the AC to cool somewhat lower than your target for a short time before the expensive rate time, then leave it off until the cheap rates come back in late evening.
We are 78 people, but at night we put it at 76.
Our AC is at 77 right now down from 78.
I wear flip flops all summer. Can’t stand for my feet to be sweaty in closed up tennis shoes or similar. I wear t-shirts and shorts most of the time too. Try to stay in the shade (our yard is super shady so not hard).
Popsicles are good. I love Trader Joe’s Fruit Floes. I drink a lot of water and iced tea. Have to crank up the ice-maker on the fridge another notch in the summer.
I’m a summer person, though. I’d honestly rather have it be 90 than 50 any day of the week. 100 is pretty hot, but I think I’ll still take it over winter’s dreariness. We are in the South so I am used to heat and humidity and also used to having AC everywhere. I usually take a flannel shirt or hoodie with me if I’m going to be inside somewhere very long because I get chilly with the AC cranking so much.
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We were recently camping and there were a few hot humid days. There was an older couple who sat out in the sun all day and never put the A/C on! They had an airstream, which can be really hot. They even had a camp fire going. At one point he was really slumped in the chair. I joked about maybe they needed an intervention.
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By living in Maine, 3 miles from the ocean. 
Best move I ever made.
It does get hot occasionally but never more than a few days. And it always cools off at night.
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Wow 78. Ours is set at 72 and I think 2 of my kids keep theirs lower than that.
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That doesn’t apply to us
I also almost never turn on AC, but I also don’t have 100+ degree weather. As discussed below, I find a rolling average temperature covering both day and night is more influential on whether I need AC than peak temperature.
When I was younger, I used to want to keep home at a precise temperature. I’d have the AC turn on before I arrived home from work, so the house would be cooled to the temperature I wanted when I arrived home. Being used to a precise temperature, I’d feel uncomfortable if I went somewhere that deviated from that temperature, whether it be office temperature at work or outside temperature. When going outside, I’d need to carefully select which jacket to wear or short/long sleeves.
Now I adapt to the temperature, rather than try to precisely control the temperature with AC. If it’s going to be a hot day, open the windows at night and let the house start the morning cool. On the rare hottest days, it might reach 90 outside during the day, but the large home area heats up more slowly that outside air temp, so if home is cooled down at night, it is unlikely to reach above high 70s inside when downstairs (unless night temp isn’t low). During evening when outdoor temp cools below indoors, then use window fans to blow hot air out and blow cool air in, gradually dropping indoor temp from high 70s to low 70s.
Being okay with a wider variation of temperatures indoors, I am also okay with a wider variation of temperatures outdoors or at other locations. The origin of this relationship was probably the reverse. As I spent more time in a wide variation of temperatures outdoors, I become okay with a wider variation of temperatures indoors.
I moved us from the south to the east coast shore with constant ocean breezes and few bugs but now I’ve been temporarily (I hope) transported to Colorado and dealing with heat the southern way again ..lounging in a/c and fans.
I don’t know exactly where that is, but Sunset zone 17 has treated us pretty well so far. We are ok without AC, and when we moved into our house it didn’t have central heating, either. When it gets hot, we use fans and hang out in the back yard in the shade.
My kids are spoiled… they complain when it gets as hot as 70. 
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@Data10 I like the points you articulated. Absolutely right to consider average temp vs peak.
And I have also thought about adapting to temps inside and out vs trying to regulate. I actually like winter temps around high 50’s. Have a harder time with hot weather but pretty much do the same thing you described!
Stay cool everyone!
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If you ask Google or similar, the response will be southern CA, near coast. Ocean temperature is lower 60s this time of year, which moderates summer temps down. Typical summer days are highs in 70s F and low in 60s F. Typical winter days are high in 60s F and low in 50s F. The area averages ~10 inches per rain per year, which is near the threshold for deserts. It’s never cold enough to snow.
It was 111 F in our neck of the woods yesterday. What I do is:
- do outdoor stuff early. Preferably no later than 9:00 am.
- OR do outdoor stuff late. Like 7:00 pm or later.
- a couple of years ago, we put UV blocking window film on the south & west-facing windows of our house. This has helped tremendously with reducing the temperature of those parts of the house.
- In the south & west-facing rooms, we also have UV blocking curtains AND blinds. By 10 am, I close the south & west-facing blinds & curtains. This helps reduce heat in those rooms also.
- We have a ceiling fan installed in each room. And if anybody’s in a room, you turn the ceiling fan on. This helps a LOT with making the room feel about 5 degrees cooler.
- drink lots of fluids. Hydrate before you feel thirsty.
- if you have to be outside in the heat, take small breaks regularly. Pace yourself, slow down, drink more, go inside when you need to.
- stay indoors between 11:00 am-6:00 pm if possible.
- on the west side of our house, about 5 yr ago I planted tall trees and clumping bamboo. This now provides a lot of shade to that side of the house.
- front of our house faces south and I have a big native tree planted in front, which provides a little shade to the front bedroom.
- on our covered back patio/porch, we installed an outdoor ceiling fan, too. That does wonders. It makes it pretty relaxing and almost pleasant at 8:00 pm when it’s still 95 degrees in the backyard.
- dress in clothes that will keep you cool. Loose fitting. Cotton. Lots of sandals and flip flops.
- if installing a ceiling fan isn’t possible, go out and buy one of those Woozoo fans that everybody raves about in college dorms. They’re amazing. Small, compact, and they rotate 360 degrees, so it generates a lot of air circulation. Still air will make the space you’re in feel hotter. But a small breeze will make it feel much cooler.
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It would be interesting to know how much correlation there is between spending time outdoors and acceptance of a greater temperature variation within one’s house (and therefore lower utility bills relating the AC and heating).
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lol I have one of those fans going in my room right now!
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This is a great thread my C21 is in NYC this summer working and the weather is crazy hot. I am thinking I will send them the cordless neck fans that Costco has been selling and people are really excited about.
It’s been above 110 in AZ all week. I keep the house at 72 and don’t go outside, but that’s me on most days, so I don’t notice it.
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We had 3 new HVAC systems installed in December for each floor. So very, very glad we did. The orginals were 24 years old and struggling. Yesterday afternoon, for the first time I closed the louvers on the plantation blinds (front & sides of house) and put the motorized shades down in the back. The house became dark but immediately cooled a LOT. I have always kept all shutters and blinds open as the informal living areas are in the back of the home and we have a forest in the back so no need to close anything for privacy…but wow, those motorized shades are fantastic!
Just chedk the weather for the College World Series in Omaha today - yikes! 100 degrees at first pitch at 6:00 pm after having been above 90 since 10:00 a.m. They will be melting!
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I think a lot of us will be put to the test this week in terms of staying comfortable with a lot of heat!
It’s in the 60’s here now with temps climbing all day. Windows are open now, but they won’t be in an hour or so.
This afternoon I am going to a Juneteenth celebration in a community garden in Chinatown/Lower East Side, Manhattan. These gardens are such an oasis, and they exist in most NYC neighborhoods. I will take the subway there–always well-air conditioned. And then the Spanish-English meetup where we will likely sit outside of the bar, on the sidewalk under umbrellas the bar provides. By the time I get home, I hope my apartment will be cool enough not to need the AC. Windows open, blinds down.
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