Air Conditioning and Nylons

Celeste asked me a question I've been asked now by several people. Is it better for the environment to turn the AC up when you're at work, and then to turn it down again when you come back home? Or is it best to leave it running all day. Like her I've had lot of people tell me that it's more efficient to leave an AC running all day. The same folks say that it's better to leave the heat running at a comfortable temperature when you're away.

The first time I heard this theory was from my real estate agent in Cleveland. She was a woman who ran hot, as she put it, which meant she was always toasty. I blamed it on her nylons. Anyone who wears nylons is bound to have troubles. I learned that fact from grade school sex ed. teacher who informed the class that nylons don't let your crotch breathe and are best avoided unless absolutely necessary. I'd never heard about crotch breath before. Ever since then nylons have made me nervous.

But I digress . . .

That summer I let my real estate agent convince me to turn the AC down to the mid- 70s. A chilled house sells better, she said. It was so hot that summer, our house felt like an ice cube in hell. Every time I entered it, I got an ice cream headache. It was a good thing the house sold because it wasn't cheap to be running the AC like that . . .

The fact is there's no way it's environmentally or economically better to run the AC all day at your ideal temperature. I wish it were. I think of it as a popular urban myth, one we'd all like to believe, so our homes will never feel too cold or too hot . . .

But remember, air conditioning makes you fat. So it's best not to run it at all!

http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2003/12/18/umbra-thermostat/index.html