re: #695 Occasional Reader

I disagree. Certainly if you’re away for an extended period (say, a week), how could it possiby be less energy-efficient to simply let the house reach ambient temperature and stay there, while you’re away and don’t care? Upon return, you can cool the house back down in an hour or two with the A/C on. I find it hard to believe that the A/C will burn more BTUs in that hour or two, than it would have done during an entire week of intermittent switching on and off.

(Of course, you may not want your house to heat up that much for other reasons, e.g. Fido who stayed home for this trip, etc.)

Vacation is another matter. It depends on how hot it will be while I am gone, and whether the cat is home. Lately, we are closing in on 100F during the day … my wife’s cosmetics would melt, etc.

BTW, the AC is burning kW, not BTUs. ;)