Use of A/C

[sprintcyclist]

I really like our A/C.
Have 2 mitsubishi split systems.

How do you all use the A/C in winter? I met a few weird people lately who did strange things with them.
One guy put his onto 24 degrees to 'test it out'. A new system.
One had his on 30 degrees for an hour !

In winter in the bedroom we use 20 or 21 degrees, put the timer on for 2;30 am, off at 7 am

[Valkie]

I decided years ago to install seperate systems in each room.
It has been a good choice, some rooms are empty mostof the time and do not need heating or cooling.

We replaced the lounge room system before xmas after 18 years of use.

As for temps
20 in winter

23-24 in summer

We have gas cooking and big windows in every room, so we rarely turn on the lights.
My hallways all have sky lights as well, even my garage has a sheet of clear perspex to light the garage like day.

Our electricity bill in a year is usually less than our neighbors quarterly bill.

[sprintcyclist]

.............. I decided years ago to install seperate systems in each room.
It has been a good choice, some rooms are empty mostof the time and do not need heating or cooling.

We replaced the lounge room system before xmas after 18 years of use.

As for temps
20 in winter

23-24 in summer .................

That is about exactly like us.
The A/C specialist also said, with totally separate systems if one fails, you still have one to use.

With a ducted system, if it fails you got nothing.

[Neferti]

I have a split system a/c and they told me to keep it at 28 as it runs more efficiently and less costly that way. I have a thermometer in a couple of rooms and they only read 22C, they have never, ever read 28!

[sprintcyclist]

28 !!!!

Wow, that is hot

[Neferti]

28 !!!!

Wow, that is hot

But it is NOT hot. The room temperature is only 22C.

[sprintcyclist]

ah, right.

[Texan]

I have a central ducted heat/AC system. In Winter, I use natural gas for heat. I keep it at 22 during the day and 20 at night.

In Summer, I keep the thermostat at 24 during the day and 21 at night when I sleep.

I plan to build a new home next year. I will spray foam insulate a metal building and use 3 high efficiency mini split AC units. Heat will be supplemented with a small wood burning stove. I plan to put about 10kw of solar panels on the roof and collect rainwater for drinking. I haven't decided if I want batteries for self sufficiency or if I'll solely use net metering for energy storage. I can get free used batteries from work, but they require maintenance and you have to prepare for fire and gassing hazards.

[Valkie]

28 !!!!

Wow, that is hot

But it is NOT hot. The room temperature is only 22C.

I sort of over did the a/c in each room
2kw in each bedroom and a whopping 7500 for the lounge room.
But in my defence, our rooms are quite large
The lounge is 6.5m x 5.5m with 10 foot ceilings throughout.
Two of the 4 bedrooms are 5m x 4m
And two are 4.5m x 3.5m

The house had no insulation when we bought it 33 years ago, and the first couple of years were hell.

Damn hot in summer, we ate outside where it was cooler
And ice box cold in winter, with only an old kero heater.
The wife often headed for the shopping centre to get cool during the day, just wandering to keep the babies more comfortable.

We saved and bought ceiling insulation, what a difference
Then wall insulation and finally floor insulation
Roof vents and when the new roof went on it was also insulated
We fitted ceiling fans in every room, which helped a lot.

Even now, the home is about 10 deg cooler than outside in summer with all the windows closed
In winter it holds the heat better, but still loses some heat during the day.
But when we could afford a/c the whole world changed.

But the first few years we were paying 18% interest and I was travelling to Sydney every day.
Money was short.
Now, we sit comfortable anytime and life is good.

[sprintcyclist]

well done Valkie