Waiting for coolth

[carbonel]

The air conditioner people have come and gone, I am $2500 poorer, and cool air is coming out of the vents.

The thermostat is resolutely sitting at 79 degrees Fahrenheit, though. I suppose a house this large has a lot of inertia, or whatever the correct term is when talking about resistance to temperature change.

Comments

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

If you want real temperature inertia, you've got to live in a cave. Hot or cold, it's the same temperature in there.

Cool and dank.

B

[ex-erikvolso370.livejournal.com]

Thermal inertia works.

Trick I learned in St. Louis. When spring threatens to turn to summer, I crank the AC to "Jesus Christ" and drop the house to 65F for three or four days -- then, when the heat hits, I roll it up to 76F, and it stays cool for weeks.

Of course, my place is brick, so there's lots of mass to cool or warm.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

The qustion is: which takes less energy? Does it take less energy to cool a house to 65 and then let is slowly warm up, or maintain the house at a less-cool 70 or so?

I don't know. My guess is that it depends on a whole lot of other factors.

B