Homeowner settles debate over which number to pay attention to on home AC unit: 'This should be talked about more'

A travelling artist living off the grid in the Caribbean shared some valuable advice for keeping your home cool while using much less energy overall.

@vagabondartist #savemoney #electric #electricbill #conservation #house #housemaintenance #airconditioning #ac #offgrid #offgridliving #offgridlife #islandlife #expat ♬ original sound - Traveling Artist Island Life

The scoop

The video, posted by the account Traveling Artist Island Life (@vagabondartist), talks the viewer through his initial difficulties with the island's temperature. Running the air conditioner all the time proved ruinously expensive, as he explained that energy costs are 10 times higher than in the U.S., so that a two-week period could run as high as $1,200. Ouch.

He realized he was focusing on the wrong problem, noting that 90 degrees Fahrenheit feels different in dry Arizona than it does in humid Atlanta. It's possible to be comfortable at much higher temperatures by looking at humidity instead.

"Reducing the temperature in your home is expensive; it costs a lot more than reducing the humidity," he said. At around 40% humidity, temperatures in the 80s are perfectly fine. At 60% or 70%, it's torture. So, the simple solution is to use the dryer setting on the air conditioner, which uses much less energy — less energy equals lower bills. 

How it's helping

With rising global temperatures caused by human activity, summers are getting a lot longer and hotter in some parts of the world, making air conditioning all but mandatory. Of course, air conditioning comes with its own pollution footprint, but as this and other videos show, it is possible to have comfort without using excessive energy.

There are other innovative ways to reduce energy expenditure and save money without compromising your well-being. To really get those bills down, the best bet is to go solar, which will bring energy costs down to almost nothing. The upfront costs can be a barrier, but over time, homeowners will save thousands. EnergySage's free online tools can help knock up to $10,000 off the initial installation costs. 

Even with $10,000 knocked off the price, solar may be too expensive for many. If you'd rather lease solar panels, check out Palmetto's LightReach program, which offers solar installations for $0 down.

What everyone's saying

The comments were appreciative of the advice, with a few sharing their own experiences of combating excessive humidity. "This should be talked about more," one viewer opined.

"Way to go! I hate high humidity!" one comment said. Another corroborated the video's premise, "Awesome! This coincides with the wet bulb temperature, at 100% humidity the human body will be unable to cool itself at 95 degrees, @ 50% humidity 113."

Another commenter added: "We have a camp of grid solar/gen we have an AC but you are right dry heat and humidity are 2 different things we use ours to take out the humidity also."

One viewer was all too familiar with the idea: "Being from Florida I can tell you you are spot on! Growing up my parents focused more on dehumidifying the house in summer…. Which was 9 months long!"

How much do you run your AC during the summer? Constantly 🫠 Most of the day 😓 Only during peak heat 😤 Hardly at all 😎 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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