Ditzy

A lot of people (all over Dubai) seem to leave their whole house AC on day and night. We only use the a/c in the rooms we are in at that time, and have installed split ACs which cool the room in a minute and are pretty cheap. I don't understand how people can afford to leave the whole house running all the time. 5k for a large house (with a pool/pool pump running) with a/c on in every room 24/7 and then tons of watering for grass would not be a surprise.

UKMS

All well and good if your not using the rooms ..... in some circumstances can also be a false economy turning off AC, letting a room get hot then turning it back on at full tilt to chill it rather than leave it on low in the first place ..... of course every home and AC set up is different

Meow

What amazes me is the number of people who seem to run their AC at 20c and then wonder why it is so expensive.

Taz786

What is the best way to run A/C? What temp and to leave it running for longer periods of time or start/stop whenever required?

mission

24C

scrubbedexpat141

My apartment is quite large, controlled by two units - one in bedroom, one for living areas.

If you want to be really anal, closing curtains and sealing gaps can help a lot. I don't bother.

We get morning sun to about lunchtime then we're shaded, but with sliding triple doors to main balcony, another balcony with door and window and another window, the lounge / kitchen can take a battering.

I turn off at night when going to bedroom.
I turn on in the day and put on 25 or 26 just to keep air moving. Then when I'm in I generally drop it to 22 or 23 or 24 depending on what's what or how I'm feeling.

I think if you left it at 24 constantly you would be fine but if I don't have it on during the day, coming home means walking into a very hot apartment and it just takes a while to get it cooler, will struggle a bit to get there and then you turn it off and have used it massively for a few hours instead of on/off for a day.

24 is what they all recommend I think. It's fine until I eat, because that makes me hot.

Meow

Who is 'they'?

My AC is set permanently at 26c. That's fine unless I am cooking for ages or on the rare occasion I do some housework. It is left on at that when we are away for the benefit of my cats. It's a perfect temperature.

jam25mack

24 ish for me. Have it off all day when I am out and on all night until I leave.

scrubbedexpat141

Empower 8 steps to 24
DEWA 24 degree advice

It seems to be the number that gets the hot press as suggested levels you might find comfortable.

Mine is generally cooler, I know lots (like you) who have it higher.

My bedroom is a balmy 20 degrees

mission

Government utility company

Taz786

Thanks. Will try keeping it on 24 as the wife has an obsession for it to be on.

Ditzy

She may not when the first bill comes in....haha.

Taz786

She doesn't know the previous bill amounts and don't want to come across being stingy if it makes her life easier and bearable.

But if I can save by keeping a temp at a set amount, I may aswell try. Every penny counts.

scrubbedexpat141

I've just had the summer bill + quarterly standing. Ends up being a really painfully expensive experience. In fact, I haven't paid it yet....

Millhouse

I just got my first bill after being in for 6months... That was fun.