We recommend the following as the best thermostat settings: For warmer times, set your thermostat at 78° F during daytime. Set it to 86° F if you leave the house. For cooler times, set your thermostat to 68° F while you're at home and awake.
Setting your air conditioning to 72°F is generally considered a comfortable indoor temperature for many people. It strikes a good balance between comfort and energy efficiency, making it a popular choice for residential settings.
The optimal range to set your thermostat is between 68 and 79 degrees. Keeping your home too cold or too hot could cause issues you don't want.
68 to 72 degrees is a temperature range that is not too warm or cool, and is sufficient enough to warm up the home just enough so that everyone is comfortable regardless of the type of clothing they have on.
Quick answer: The ideal house temperature is room temperature, which ranges from 68 to 78 degrees F, though this may vary from season to season. In winter, the average room temperature is generally 62 to 68 degrees, whereas in the summer, the average temperature is 72 to 78 degrees.
“The consensus among most scientists is that anything higher than 75 or 80 is bad for sleep and potentially detrimental to health,” Baniassadi said. Heat affects sleep because the body signals the brain that it's time to fall asleep by lowering its core temperature. Sleeping in a hot room makes this difficult.
Best AC Temperature Settings While You Are Home
As you consider the most comfortable room temperature for your lifestyle and family, keep in mind that for each degree that you set your thermostat above 72 degrees, you can save up to 3% on your energy bill.
Setting the thermostat below 72 degrees while using an air conditioner can cause the unit to work harder than necessary, leading to higher energy bills and potential damage to the appliance.
The World Health Organization recommends a thermostat setting no lower than 68 degrees while you're home. If you have children or seniors in your house, that number increases to at least 70 degrees. If your house is too cold, it can cause problems with blood pressure and circulation, as well as affect your heart rate.
The U.S. Department of Energy recommends 78° as the best temperature setting for your air conditioner during the daytime. And 82° for sleeping in the summer.
People generally sleep best at night in rooms between 60 to 67 degrees. However, only you can determine your ideal temperature. If 67 is too cold for you, go up a few degrees until you reach a temperature that's still cool but comfortable.
To save money, aim to have your temperature set around 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit when you're at home and awake. This is a comfortable temperature for most with the help of a light sweater. Overnight and when you're out, around 64 degrees Fahrenheit will keep your home at a good temperature.
For many of us, 70 degrees is the ideal indoor temperature, but when it is close to 100 degrees outside, your AC unit will be working quite hard to meet these expectations. Consider setting your thermostat at 75 degrees to 80 degrees in your home if the outside temperature is approaching triple digits.
Clean the Thermostat
Sometimes, when the room temperature doesn't match the thermostat setting, the problem could be dirt buildup on its interior parts. A dirt coating around the inner components may create excess heat and cause the thermostat to give the wrong readings.
Research, such as a 2012 study published in Physiology & Behavior, shows that men tend to run a little warmer and women a little colder—the average preferred temperature for men is about 72 degrees Fahrenheit whereas women prefer it around 77 degrees.
In general, the ideal room temperature and your home for both efficiency and comfort fall somewhere between 68° and 76°F. What should the average room temperature be in winter? In the winter, you might choose to keep your thermostat set lower around 68° in order to save energy and dollars on your next heating bill.
If you're cold even though your thermostat indicates you shouldn't be, your furnace likely isn't the problem. In most cases, it's working just fine. It's your home that needs attention. Lack of insulation, severe air leakage, and/or unbalanced ductwork are frequently to blame.
Setting the thermostat higher than the low 70s inevitably increases heat loss to the outdoors, raising heating bills substantially. Higher temperatures indoors can also decrease indoor humidity, which is often naturally low during winter. This unhealthy heat may further degrade indoor health and comfort.
ASHRAE, unlike the EPA, specifies an ideal number to set a building's thermostat to. It's a range, actually: around 23°-26°C, or 73.4°-78.8°F, in the summer.
This is more of a personal question, as different people feel comfortable at different temperatures. Since 72 degrees is generally agreed upon to be an ideal indoor temperature, most people would probably still feel comfortable setting their AC units slightly higher than this, perhaps at around 75.
The recommendations include keeping your thermostat at 78º when you're at home during the day, 82º at night, and 85º when you're away during the warm months. To many people, sleeping in 82º heat is simply outrageous.
What is the Best Thermostat Setting for Summer Air Conditioner Use? Energy Star recommends the following thermostat temperatures for your air conditioner in the summer: 78°F during the day if people are home. 82°F at night if people are home.
The Ideal AC Temperature
Between 74-77 degrees F (23-25 degrees C). This will limit the strain on your cooling system, keep energy bills reasonable, and help prevent the coils from freezing.
Cooling a house from 90 degrees to 72 degrees typically takes about 2 to 4 hours, depending on various factors.