Winter In Florida: Is It Better To Leave The AC On All Day?

Winter in Florida; a season so mild that most of the other states can scarcely believe that you’re chilly in 70 degree weather. While Floridians don’t need to pay exorbitant heating costs, they may continue to need to run their air conditioning units, which can cause their monthly energy bills to suffer the same effects. One of the biggest myths surrounding air conditioning use is whether or not it is more energy efficient and cost-effective to leave your AC unit running all day. The short answer? Absolutely not. But let’s take a closer look.

Myth: Busted

The idea that air conditioners will use less energy if they’re never turned off is based on the belief that they use more energy when they “kick start” at the beginning of each day. Therefore, the fewer times you turn it off, the less work it has to do to cool the space it’s in, which would save you money each month on your bill.

Unfortunately, that is simply not how air conditioners work. Not only will running your unit send your energy bill through the roof, it also has the potential to be incredibly damaging to the air conditioner and can shorten its lifespan significantly. If you leave it on all day, every day, year round, you’ll be contacting various air conditioning companies to perform AC repairs relatively frequently — or you’ll simply wind up in an endless and fruitless search for the best air conditioning company that offers you the best air conditioning unit. No matter what kind of unit you purchase, they will all require air conditioning repair if you run them nonstop.

A Viable Alternative

If you simply enjoy the luxury of returning to a cool home after a long day at work, consider investing in a programmable thermostat: by setting a time for your AC unit to turn on and off (usually an hour or so before you walk in the door), you’ll maximize your unit’s efficiency and any need for air conditioning repair — provided you continue to get your yearly maintenance checks — goes out the window.

It turns out Northerners and Southerners do have something in common when it comes to the winter months; though air conditioning units today use about 50% less energy than they did in 1990, the resulting bill can be just as devastating. Trust the AC companies and turn them off when you aren’t home.