Environmental more than financial for me. Although my old house is difficult and expensive to heat and cool.

Same reason I open my car windows and deal with the heat while waiting in the parking lot for my kids, less uncomfortable with the temperature than knowing all the other parents around me don’t give a cr@p.

If there is a simple measure to conserve energy, I'll do it. Sweaters, blankets when cold; lighter clothes, fans, etc when hot. Actually quicker than tweaking the thermostat and waiting for the house temp to change. And yes, I care about the environmental impact of energy use, so if it's simple to minimize, I gladly will be a bit hot in summer, and a bit cold in winter.

As a retiree, it's kinda fun to watch the weather and delay turning on the a/c as long as possible. When we both worked, no one was home to open windows on the shady side, close the drapes against the hot sun. And when our DD was home, she had pollen allergies so we had to close up as soon as the trees started blooming.

Environmental and cheap. I also am aware that in both seasons what felt comfortable in the one would be either too hot or too cold in the other. I also do not go by the heat index the way some seem to do. An example today the real temperature was 90F but I was comfortable working in the garden. Granted it was pulling weeds and not strenuous work but there are days that at that temperature I melt. The other day it was upper 70s in the house and I needed to turn the a/c on. When I came inside today it was 83 and it was not uncomfortable.

As a side note having experimented with my house I find that setting the thermostat at one temperature and not following the raising and lowering of the temperature uses less energy than the suggested method. I can look at the energy used daily and used to be able to look at hourly usage and it takes less to keep things at a steady temperature.

I know what you mean. ie: We even heat the garage 24/7. If it's cold, we go out to our car and the air is warm....the car is warm. Yes.....we have heated seats, a heated steering wheel.....but it's Colorado! Man.....when it's cold....just be comfortable!

We try to heat and cool with moderation, as an environmental matter. The cost differences between what we do and less considerate ecological conduct isn't a factor.

Less environmentally damaging/global warming conscious conduct is usually more expensive than standard practices but people concerned about these problems try to pursue the less damaging choices because they view them as the better moral and ethical approaches. Some people drive electric cars because those like Teslas are a lot of fun, but many others do so because they sincerely think it's the right thing to do. It's a more expensive choice than driving a gasoline powered car. People with sincere concerns will often opt for electricity supply contracts that have higher or even exclusively renewable generation sources rather than from combustion plants. Also more expensive to do.

From time to time I run into people who either in an effort to kid themselves or to try fool others suggest that a positive practice provides dispensation for an unfavorable one. "Yes, I know I'm wasting energy by keeping my house at 72 degrees all winter and at 70 all summer but I drive a smaller car and that makes up for it". Or the opposite - "I know I do this or that which isn't good for the environment and global warming but we make up for it because we keep our thermostats at a moderate setting". Yeah, right.

Back to the original question:

"Why do people refuse to turn on Heat/AC when needed in you house?"

I think there's no uniformity as to when someone thinks heating or cooling is needed. Or when they can or want to spend money to do something about it.

Long ago, we had friends living in the Twin Cities (MN) area. We went to visit in mid-October (as I recall), a combo business trip in a nearby state for me and a getaway for my wife. A light snow was falling on the drive from the airport to their house. They remarked how unseasonably warm it had been, that they hadn't even had to turn on the heat "yet". We spent the evening and night shivering, got up in the morning to a cold house and joined them for breakfast. They remarked again how unseasonably warm it was and another "nice" day was expected. Mustering all the diplomacy I could find, I said something like "you're lucky you have had such nice weather but remembering that we're thin blooded wimps from California, could I ask that you turn the heat on a bit please?. It's very cold for us right now." They did and apologized for not thinking about the need on their own. I'm sure they were sincere in finding their house unseasonably warm but for us, it was very uncomfortable.

I’ll admit I’ve eased up on the thermostat wars since wife went into forced menopause.

My philosophy is that is doesn't hurt you to exercise your body's ability to thermoregulate. Within reason.

I don't understand why my next door neighbors get in the car & drive to my house. They probably don't understand why I walk over to their house.

I worked with a girl who turned on the heat by the calendar, not by the weather. It could be cold outside, but she would not turn on the furnace until Oct 1st and would turn it off the beginning of May. We still had our furnace still on in May.

For me and hubby if we are cold the furnace goes on, we don't care what time of year it is. We keep it at 73 during the day and usually have sweats or sweaters on. In the fall before I switch the beds over to the winter sheets and comforter it is set at 70 at night and after the switch it goes to 68 at night. Now we both don't use the AC much. We like the windows open and the warm weather. But if it does get hot and sticky we don't hesitate turning it on. The AC is set at 76.

If people want to be cold or hot in their own homes that's fine, but we want to be comfortable in ours.

I think that there is value in adjusting the body to the change in seasons. Being chilly in early November helps reset my body for winter. Likewise May heat helps prepare me for summer. Delaying use of ac/heat helps me rely on them less. Good for the environment and the wallet. I understand that as we age we may become physically less adaptable to temperature changes. Health problems, too, can change how we deal with temperature.

It was high school. I worked at an old downtown located JCPennys. One evening I had a customer complain about the temperature in the store. Too cold for him. I responded with the standard line 'President Carter has asked the Nation to keep our thermostats......' FF 20+ years later I was a young mom living in a major city that paid people to come be on these focus groups to discuss future energy possibilities. It was an energy producing company wondering if the consumer would tolerate higher heating/cooling bills to off set the price of alternative energy sources i.e. windmills. The older gentlemen in the group were ADAMANT they would not. The future generations will figure it out if we run out of fossil fuel... Back in the day I guess my education/family/Church taught me to think about future generations and my impact on them. If we are willing to live with a bit of inconvenience and uncomfortableness we might save other's from living in major discomfort. LIVE SIMPLY SO OTHER'S CAN SIMLY LIVE.

"Is it being stubborn or worried about utility bills?"

Probably both, or one or the other at different times -- trying to conserve energy for environmental reasons, and trying to conserve money. And then there are personal, physiological differences - for instance, I am more tolerant of cold than heat, so I'm much more likely to keep the heating low in the winter than I am to skimp on AC in the summer.

My in-laws had A/C in their last house but rarely used it, even when it was very hot. Why? FIL had a brain injury and there were many things he couldn't do, and honestly I think MIL's dementia was setting in. We stayed with FIL for a week when MIL was out of town. MIL said "Now remember the cat, for some reason she won't stay in the house anymore." As soon as MIL left, we turned the A/C to 80 degrees. FIL was more comfortable and the cat came inside and wouldn't leave!

I'm reminded of this, from Seinfeld.

Turn on the air conditioner.

LOL I have never understood people who turn on the AC when it's still low 70s, or the heat when it's 60s. And people who might run both in one day? Ay Yi Yi!! (with the exception of allergy sufferers, that is. Those folks I understand not wanting to open windows)

Personally I live on a fixed income. It's plenty for my needs, with $$ left over at the end of a month. But I choose to be a little warmer than many in the summer, and a little cooler than many in the winter. I choose not to have a $250 power bill when I could put on a sweater or turn on a couple of fans and reduce that bill to $150. It makes no sense to me NOT to live this way.

The older we get the more we rely on a stable comfort zone. In the winter it's 68F and in the summer it's 73F (heat pump/AC). Our sleeping temp is 64F but we have a quiet window AC for our bedroom so as not to AC the whole house during the night which can be wasteful.

We open windows when the weather is nice inside and out. We just want to be comfortable in our home. I know everyone likes or has different levels of comfort. Even my husband and I do, which can be frustrating sometimes. LOL

Our utility bills are very low in Los Angeles, as we live near the beach and the temperatures outdoors do not vary that much from season to season. When we leave for a trip, we turn the thermostat off completely, and the house is usually 72° when we return. We do not open windows that much because we are fairly close to the airport and want to block airport noise. There is not a lot of noise - not enough for the city to help pay - and I do not notice it when I'm in the yards, but I will notice it slightly when I'm going to bed.

For the house in Cathedral City, I keep the thermostat at 83° in the summer when we are not there, and this does use the A/C, but we have solar panels, and the electric company actually owes us money. Heating is a different issue, since we have a gas heater and the pool also uses a gas heater. I try to minimize using the heater for the pool, as it can be quite expensive in the winter, but if I do not use it, I cannot use the pool. No heating needed for the pool from May through mid October, and very little needed in April.

I believe it is what you tolerate like Toronto Vet said. Hubby and I could always tolerate heat better than cold. Growing up every house had heat, but most didn't have AC. If it was hot you stuck a fan in the window and most of the time that is what we still do. I've noticed with the younger generation that have grown up in controlled environments of both heat and AC that they have a harder time with the temperature swings. As soon as it gets cool they want the furnace on and vice a versa.

On the Hawaii Trip Adviso forums people ask if they will need air conditioning. This results from condo owners marketing their units, saying "Ceiling fans and the Trade Winds will keep you comfortable." Now, that can be true for people who will be in Hawaii long enough to acclimate (more than a week or two), but the reason it's not offered is the outrageous cost of electricity there. Further, the Trades sometimes die for days; it's *sticky*!

We've had both heat and A/C on and off three or four times this spring. Each setting requires different air return vents, so we've only switched our bedroom vents back and forth. It takes more than a few degrees of change for us to switch. You won't come into our house on a cold day when we have the heat on and find us in summer-weight clothing.

We all need to cut down on our perceived 'need' for electricity. Generating it is killing us.

Absolutely, financial considerations. While there are now some assistance programs, there are still many who are poor and live in old drafty homes who either cannot afford AC at all, or cannot afford electric bills if A/C is used. Especially in parts of the south, the heat has actually killed those poor, primarily the ill or very old, who cannot afford to air condition.

on hot days [95 plus], the AC is set at 78 to take out the humidity. We live at 68 in the winter. there's about 45 days we don't need either.

ETA

We replaced the outdated furnace and AC two years ago. coldest months see about a $125 heating bill... hottest months about $175. It was running about $150 and $225; when we built 22 years ago, we paid extra to cram in as much extra insulation as we could ...

I use a portable a/c, which is not efficient at all. But there isn't a window that I'd put an a/c in that would be able to cool enough of the apartment.

I notice a big jump in my hydro prices in the summer when the a/c is on, and even when it is, it doesn't cool the part where it is (kitchen/dining/livingroom below 28C and the back is even hotter.

The first few years we lived here we didn't need an a/c at all......windows on all sides, live on the top floor, breezes often. But now an a/c is mandatory, our summers are starting earlier and getting hotter.

I don't understand people who cool their homes so much that it's downright frigid, and heat it so hot in the winter that they wear summer clothes. I wear a sweatshirt in the winter shorts and tank top in the summer (indoors only!) Longer pants when I go out.

Both financial and environmental reasons. I live on a fixed income, which is probably pretty low compared to what many of you have. As long as I am careful with expenditures, I have enough, with a little left over each month. I do like to be able to pay my utility bills and eat, too, so I try to be frugal. Our summers are brutal, and my AC it set on 80. I am fine in tank tops and light weight summer shorts and jeans. (At home only!) I do lower the thermostat if anyone is coming over, I know most are very uncomfortable at that temperature. Winters are typically short and very mild, and the thermostat is set on 70, and I enjoy the opportunity to wear a sweat shirt and maybe even sweat pants.

The thing is, we are all different, which is a very good thing!

Rusty

I tend to use AC more according to humidity than temperature alone. And the duration/degree of discomfort. Sometimes it just doesn't pay to cool 8 room 2 story home when cool will come with sunset. Window fans bring in cool air. Running the furnace fan with windows closed brings cool air up from basement for short duration. Ceiling fans are good. Given my druthers, I'd have the windows open.

Main problem with AC is that my joints stiffen up. Need to adjust for comfort.

Elmer, we are in Finger Lakes area of NY State. Friends from here who had moved to Phoenix came to visit for a week. Sitting outside in the shade of a tree on a really hot day, she needed a sweater!

"we are in Finger Lakes area of NY State."

That's a nice area to visit. I've been there a handful of times because one of our kids went to college there. Visits were strictly in the spring and fall, avoiding winter and summer, the weather is not to my liking. Even too cold in starting in mid-fall.

It's true that people adjust to their local surroundings, as with your friends from Phoenix being cool while visiting you. Paradoxically though, I've experienced (more often than not) people in the Midwest and East who (for my taste) overheat their homes in the wintertime to uncomfortable temperatures. As with the person above mentioning a temp setting for heat of 73 degrees, a setting many would find uncomfortably hot. In my area, admittedly a more mild one, on a cool day I don't think many would think of a heat setting much higher than the high 60s. Especially with the most common forced air heat that blows out at what, 100 degrees or higher, frequently circulating hot air becomes uncomfortable.

I keep my thermostat set at 65 in the winter and 75 in the summer. We are comfortable anywhere in that range if dressed appropriately for the season. My house is all electric with a ground source heat pump for heating and cooling. My bill ranges from around $140 during the fall and spring months to $240 in the coldest winter months. It's somewhere in between in the heat of summer.

I broke down and got AC last summer. I have a pretty high tolerance of heat, but we had a couple of 110+ days in a row last summer and I decided I'd had enough. I got the AC in October and have turned it on once briefly since then. Fortunately we don't have high humidity here and I'm fine into the low-mid 80s in my house. The environment and cost of running AC are big factors.

With my air working again I came home to a cold house last night. I turned the thermostat down to 78, which is where I though it was when I left, it was actually 76. I closed my bedroom door and turned my space heater on just long enough to warm my room up. I also turned my heated mattress pad on so my bed wouldn't be like a block of ice when I got in it later. I found out last month that I'm a little anemic and this may be why I freeze while others are perfectly fine blasting the air conditioning.

My dad used to keep the gas furnace turned down in the house when I was growing up. He used to get mad at me all the time because in the middle of the night someone would sneak and turn it up. I hate being cold. I don't like being too hot either.

I have no problem turning on AC. i cannot tolerate the humidity at all. we keep it at 73 24/7

our heat we ususally turn on mid-october. set at 63 M-F during the day... 65 when we are home and 65 Sat & Sunday. it does go down to 62 at night... i cannot sleep in a hot room. i just give DH an extra blanket :)

i think for people who don't turn either on, its a cost-saving issue.

I’m not shy about using our A/c or Heat. Michigan has been a soupy mess these past few days...I love having the doors and windows open, but I really can’t handle the humidity.

The hotter it gets, the more air conditioning is used...the more electricity is generated...the hotter it gets.

Beyond the electricity generation the use of heating and cooling generates heat. Stand beside whatever you use when it is running and feel the heat. Even fans if you do not use a/c generate some heat which is why most fans have a perforated cover on the back.

Devices that use electricity get warm or even hot because the work the electricity does involves flow resistance. Resistance to the flow produces heat.

Next time you use a hair dryer, or a food processor, or other item of higher wattage, feel the plug and the wire. Light bulbs get warm when used, even low wattage LEDs do. It's all the same thing.

To answer the OP's question, the reason is almost always because of $. My body's thermostat is so wacky compared to dh's, especially after menopause. I use the heating pad in the winter when I'm chilly.

I wonder how many people who deal with high humidity on a daily basis would be judged as not environmentally conscious because they use air conditioning to achieve a level of comfort?

As they say, walk a mile in my shoes.

That's no different than asking "I wonder how many people who live where winters are cold would be judged as being not environmentally conscious because they use their heating......".

I think the environmentally conscious conduct has many aspects to it. For your question, how well is the structure insulated and sealed? Multiple pane windows? Is newer, higher efficiency equipment in place, maintained annually and filters changed regularly? Are temperature settings moderate? Are fans used for comfort to allow less AC use? Where humidity is a problem, are dehumidifiers used to save energy instead of overusing AC?

Not black and white in any event, nor is "it's hot and muggy, I need to be comfortable" a thoughtful response.

"I wonder how many people who deal with high humidity on a daily basis would be judged as not environmentally conscious because they use air conditioning to achieve a level of comfort?"

I"m not sure why you feel judged about it - that's on you, not on the comments here. Being "environmentally conscious" doesn't mean living a life you hate and being uncomfortable all the time, but it does mean being conscious of the energy you use and what that costs, and then prioritizing your use and using it wisely.

I grew up in a chilly house. My parents are extremely frugal even to this day. If you're cold: put on a sweater and wear slippers. I have always cranked up my furnace when I'm cold, up until about 2 years ago. Now I keep the house at 20C in the winter during the day and if it gets chilly I have lots of afghans on the couch to cover up with. I have a down blanket on my bed to curl up under when I sleep. My heat goes down to 16C in the winter at night. I don't need the heat when I'm sleeping and under lots of warm blankets. Why spend money on energy if you don't have to? I don't have AC but if this hot weather we're having this year keeps up, I may change my mind about it. We often don't hit 30C in the summer at all in Calgary, but two weeks ago we had it 2 or 3 times in a week and it's supposed to get that hot again today and it's not even summer yet.

Mr. Fudd and Toronto Vet, your responses are almost comical. Maybe a trip to the Deep South in July or August would open your eyes.

Coco, I don't think either are saying not to use air conditioning. What I got from their posts was that electricity should be used wisely. I agree. Steps like sealing windows, changing or washing filters for window A/C, blankets and sweaters in the winter, are all steps one might take if electricity is expensive.

I think last year there was a thread here about electricity costs. Some of those with large homes and few price choices had horrendous electric bills.

coco, you missed the meaning of what I said. Neither hot weather nor cold weather is an excuse for behavior that's insensitive to and unconcerned about the welfare of the environment. I explained what that might involve instead, you chose to not read or ignore what I wrote. That's fine but the misunderstanding is yours, not mine. Being aware doesn't for a minute mean people need to sweat or shiver when weather is extreme. It's about being mindful, not wasteful, and taking reasonable steps to reduce usage. Which steps, as a bonus, can save money.

A trip to the Deep South in July or August? Don't leave out September and often May and June for more of the same. Ditto for the Plains states and the East Coast for much of the same time too.

No thanks. I've done many, many dozens of summer and winter trips to places at times when the weather was inhospitable and very uncomfortable. It's not for me.

But everything is relative to your life situation. We're able to do all of those things and keep our power costs lower. Not everyone is as fortunate.

Able to do all what?

In much of the South and Midwest, electricity is cheap because it's produced by burning coal. Wave bye-bye to those days, things are changing and those days will be in the rearview mirror before long and prices will rise. Conservation, insulation and the like will always be good things to do.

In my state, long one of several areas in the US with much higher than average costs of living, utility rates are no exception. If that weren't enough, rigid timeline mandates to increase renewable sourcing has causing already high rates to get higher. It squeezes lower income folks (though there are programs of utility bill assistance for them, which may or may not be adequate) but it's the right thing to do.

You don't assess your own efforts by looking at the amount of your monthly bills. You do it by looking at your monthly usage and considering what steps and decisions you can take on your own to use less.

I've already done that. Not everyone can. The fact that you don't understand that speaks volumes.

Coco, what I didn't understand was the message you were apparently trying to convey, you didn't express yourself clearly. Does that speak volumes? About what?

"What I got from their posts was that electricity should be used wisely. I agree. Steps like sealing windows, changing or washing filters for window A/C, blankets and sweaters in the winter, are all steps one might take if electricity is expensive."

These and other actions are steps one should take no matter how much electricity costs. It's a long list. Most utilities have information resources available for those who are interested.

Coco what are you ralking about

Corrected

"Mr. Fudd and Toronto Vet, your responses are almost comical. Maybe a trip to the Deep South in July or August would open your eyes."

What's comical about what I said? Is it comical to say you should be conscious of the environmental impact of your choices, and prioritize what is most important to you? I can't imagine why.......I certainly didn't suggest someone go without air conditioning if they are uncomfortable in their home (and they have the means to do have A/C)......I start wilting before it hits 80F - I'm not very tolerant of heat or humidity. So, I try to make environmentally helpful choices elsewhere, because I try to be conscious of the environmental choices of what I choose.

What I don't understand is that some people will turn their heat up to 78 or above if the temp drops below 72 but in the summer they will set the AC to a chilly 65 if the temps hit anywhere near 80. People are strange. ;-)

I find I have to carry a jacket even in mid summer heat because so many restaurants and stores are so cold.