How to maintain your A/C during summertime
With the temperatures heating up, FOX 7 Austin checks in with a professional about how to keep your air conditioner up and running this summer.
Fox – 7 Austin
We’re officially in the trenches of summer, and as Michigan grapples with near-record temperatures and brutal humidity, we’re all looking for ways to beat the heat.
The most obvious solution, of course, is to stay inside where the air conditioning keeps us cool. And according to a new poll of Detroit Free Press readers, there’s a mixed bag of responses when it comes to what the ideal thermostat temperature is in the summer.
With 24,591 responses collected, the unofficial Free Press poll asked readers to weigh in with their go-to AC temperature.
Here’s what we found:
At what temperature do most people set their AC in Michigan?
The most popular poll response among Detroit Free Press readers was 72 degrees.
Nearly 17% of voters fell into this category.
Not far behind in second place, about 16% of people said they set their air conditioning to 74 degrees in the warm Michigan summers.
The third most popular temperature was just a hair higher, at 75 degrees, with 13% of votes.
The least popular option, with 2% of the votes collected, was “Other”, representing anything above or below the 68-78 degree range provided.
The best temperature, according to DTE
While some of us prefer to live in an ice box during the summer, it also increases stress on Michigan’s energy grid and of course, gets costly.
In a statement to the Free Press from DTE Energy, the company recommended customers set their thermostat to 78 degrees and raise it a few degrees when you’re not home.
Every degree raised is a 1-3% cost savings on energy bills, the statement said.
Ideas to stay cool
To help stay cool in your home, reduce energy usage and maximize energy efficiency during hot weather, DTE Energy offers a list of things you can do:
- Cook meals with a microwave, crockpot or outdoor grill instead of in the oven, which adds extra heat into your home, especially in the afternoon when outdoor temperatures hit their peak. If you do have to cook in the kitchen, turn on your exhaust fan to move the hot air outside.
- Close the blinds and curtains on sun-facing windows to block the sun’s rays and avoid unwanted heat.
- Postpone doing laundry, washing your dishes or running the dishwasher until the evening once outdoor temperatures have cooled down a bit.
- Let your dishes air dry in the dishwasher instead of using the heated drying feature, which can leak heat into your kitchen, raising indoor temperatures and humidity levels.
- Take quicker showers at a cooler temperature than normal. Steaming hot showers fill up your bathroom with hot humid air which can cause your A/C to work harder to cool the room back down.
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Contact Elissa Robinson: [email protected].
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Barbara Terrio is a seasoned business journalist, delving into the world of finance, startups, and entrepreneurship. With a knack for demystifying complex economic trends, she helps readers navigate the business landscape. Outside of her reporting, Barbara is an advocate for financial literacy and enjoys mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs.
