Does turning on and off a/c all day more wasteful than leaving it on?

The quick answer is - "it depends". The longer answer: it depends on the difference between outside and inside temperatures. If the desired difference is only 5-8 degrees (85 outside to 78 inside) then it is better to turn it off, and then turn it back on when needed.

If the difference is greater (like 78 inside and 95 outside) then it is more efficient to keep the AC on all the time, because then the AC doesn't need to work as hard to keep it at the desired temperature. Now, I am talking about ENERGY here. Not money.

The dollars are a whole different equation, and these depends on what plan you have, whether you have summer pricing, and whether your energy comes from coal, nuclear, or oil.

Thanks for the advice! Newuser82985919 3 months ago .

The bigger the difference between the indoor temperature; the more it costs to maintain it; but on the other hand; there are points of diminishing returns. If you let the house be hot; and try to cool it only when you are there; it may never be comfortable; in which case; you are spending air conditioning money for nothing. I don't know the rules of thumb for air conditioning; but it has been determined in general that for heating; allowing the house to be 7-10 degrees (f) cooler when it is empty saves money while allowing it to be comfortable when you are in it.

Thanks for the advise! Newuser82985919 3 months ago .

Yes, turning it on and off definitely uses more energy than keeping it on all day. The reason is, if you set it for 72º and shut it off and the temp goes to 75º, it takes more energy to get back to the 72º than it would've used to just keep the house there.

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