For example, if your home can only store 5 units of thermal energy before coming to an equilibrium with the outdoor air temperature, then at the end of the day you will only ever have to remove 5 units of heat at most.Īdditionally, as your home heats up, the process of heat transfer slows down eventually it reaches zero heat transfer at equilibrium, when the temperature inside is the same as the temperature outside. And the amount of heat that enters your home depends on how hot the building was to begin with. It’s often less than that, though – homes have a limit to how much heat they can store. If you turn off your A/C and let the heat accumulate, you could have up to eight hours’ worth of heat at the end of the day. If the amount of heat flowing into your home is given by a rate of “1 unit per hour,” your A/C will always have 1 unit of heat to remove every hour. It flows into your home when the building has less stored heat than outside. Blast A/C all day, even when you’re away?įirst, think about how heat accumulates in the first place. It’s influenced by many factors such as how well your house is insulated, the size and type of your air conditioner and outdoor temperature and humidity.Īccording to our unpublished calculations, letting your home heat up while you’re out at work and cooling it when you get home can use less energy than keeping it consistently cool – but it depends. The answer boils down to how energy intensive it is to remove heat from your home. We are a team of architectural and building systems engineers who used energy models that simulate heat transfer and A/C system performance to tackle this perennial question: Will you need to remove more heat from your home by continuously removing heat throughout the day or removing excess heat only at the end of the day? Which is more efficient: running the air conditioning all summer long without break, or turning it off during the day when you’re not there to enjoy it? Maybe your household has fought over the best strategy for cooling your space. People want to stay comfortable without wasting energy and money. Hot summer days can mean high electricity bills. Is it better to cool your house all day, or adjust the A/C setting on your way out the door? Westend61 via Getty Images
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