Stormin Mormon wrote:
Dear Jeff,
Your answer is confusing. "less efficient to stop and start".
Well, most AC I've seen stop and start, unless you crank em down to
freezer temps.
"house will gain less heat during the day when it's warmer". Well,
when it's warmer out, the house will gain more heat, compared to night
when it's cooler.
"no moisture source". Such as through the cellar floor, or around
doors and windows?
Also you didn't say if you suggested leave on, or setback.


My newsreader chops off stuff.

I agree that starting/stopping a central AC is NOT a problem, unless the
interval between a stop and a restart is too short, i.e. hard start
conditions exist.

On balance, a house with adequate insulation and adequate air leaks
plugged will need little more than a bit of cooling and a bit of
dehumidification, depending on where the house is located. The rub is
'adequate' insulation and 'adequate' plugging of air leaks. Adequate in
one climate is inadequate in another. The concerns of someone in
Calgary Canada are quite different from those who live in Mobile
Alabama. With adequate insulation and sealing even on the Gulf Coast,
peak summertime AC expense for a 2000 sq ft home CAN be less than $100 a
month.

Another issue is that with 'adequate' sealing of air leaks, odors can
accumulate in the home, so a controlled air exchange with the outside
air then becomes necessary. AprilAire's Energy Recovery Ventilator is an
example of such a product. www.ourcoolhouse.com shows one of these in
operation with minute by minute readings of temperatures and power
consumption.