I asked this question recently on social media. Today, I'll share the results of what my little survey found and how people feel about this topic. I will admit that the results did surprise me just a little bit as far as how willing people are to leave the AC on for their pets when they aren't home. So what drove me to ask this question in the first place? One day a few weeks ago, my family and I were going to go swimming for an afternoon. I got all of our stuff ready, made sure all the pets had food and water, and adjusted the thermostats on our AC window units accordingly. We live with my father, and he is always turning the AC off in order to save energy. (I was curious to know if a lot of other people were like this, or if it was just him.) I waited outside for the rest of my family while my youngest daughter played on her swing set. My oldest daughter forgot something and ran back inside. When she came back, we were ready to go swimming! We weren't gone all day, just a few hours and made the trip back home in the late afternoon.

While driving home I was talking to my boyfriend when he mentioned that "it's going to be hot in the bedroom". best air conditioning unit on the marketI snapped my head over to him and asked "why?!".purchase new ac unit Shiner's favorite spot to sit is the window seat by the AC window unit.room ac units for sale He said he had turned the AC off. There are animals in there and it's hot! At first, I wanted to panic but I stayed calm because panicking never helps. Apparently, my father had told my oldest daughter to make sure we turn off the AC before we left. I had never planned on turning it off. I could tell the boyfriend felt bad about it and I don't think he'll make the same mistake again. And I've also used the opportunity to educate my 10 year old daughter on the matter.

I think it was just poor overall communication between all of us. When we got home, everyone was fine and I refilled water bowls and turned the AC back on. And yes, it was hot in the house. This event was what prompted me to ask the question - should you leave the AC on for your pets when you aren't home? Survey Results - How many people leave their AC running for their pets in their home? How can you help your pet stay cool? Always leave plenty of fresh water for your pet to drink. You can add ice cubes to make it even cooler. For small pets (like my pet rats), place frozen water bottles wrapped in towels in their cage. Your small pet will lay next to them and the water bottles will help cool them. Keep a fan running. As I mentioned above, air circulation makes a big difference! I can't imagine that a pet would get into much trouble with a ceiling fan, so those are likely the safest option. Only leave a portable fan running if you are certain your pet isn't going to injure themselves with it somehow.

(Hey - crazy things happen sometimes.) Get a cooling mat for your pet. I've never used one of these things, but they seem helpful. Leave a frozen treat for your dog. I've heard of some people doing this before. They will stuff a KONG with whatever they want, freeze it, and leave it for their dog while they are gone. It keeps the dog occupied and it's a nice way to stay cool too. Of course, use your best judgment if you do this. Some toys and treats are only meant to be given with human supervision. Trying to stay cool! Do you leave the AC on for your pet when you leave home? How do you make sure they stay cool in the Summer? Ways to Encourage Your Pet to Drink More Water Dog Safety Tips for Summer - What to Do If Your Dog Overheats 4 Ways to Protect Your Dogs Paws from Hot Concrete Small Pets Overheat TooWhat is the function of an air conditioner? The basic functions of an air conditioner are: Maintaining the temperature to desired level.

Humidity control inside the room (De-humidification). The air conditioner attains the desired temperature according to the temperature set by its thermostat. The compressor in the air conditioner is turned on and remains on until the room temperature decreases to be the same as the temperature of the thermostat. Once the desired temperature is reached, the compressor turns off until the room temperature increases again. This turning on and turning off, of the compressor determines a cycle of the air conditioner. This concept is discussed in detail below. What is the cycle time of air conditioner? The cycle time of an air conditioner is the amount of time the unit runs to maintain the temperature of the room equal to the temperature setting of the thermostat. If the thermostat is set a very low temperature as compared to the room temperature, the compressor has to work for a longer time to decrease the room temperature, thus, increasing the cycle time. In other words, greater the temperature difference between the room temperature and thermostat temperature, greater will be the cycle time and vice versa.

What are the factors affected by cycle time? Power consumption: An air conditioner consumes a lot of power every time its compressor is turned on. This power is much greater than the power consumed by air conditioner for continuous operation (long cycles). Hence, it is not necessary that an air conditioner with short cycles consumes less power than one with long cycles. Humidity: An air conditioner’s comfort level depends on its humidity removal capability. This, capability improves as the cycle time increases. An air conditioner with frequent on off cycles cannot remove humidity from the room. Thus, long cycle time promotes humidity removal capability of an air conditioner. Usually, undersized air conditioners have much better humidity removal capability as compared to over-sized air conditioners, since the former have longer cycle times. Efficiency: As stated above, an air conditioner consumes a lot of power on start-up. Thus, frequent short cycles affect the efficiency of the air conditioner.

On the other hand, efficiency of air conditioner improves as it runs for more amount of time per cycle i.e. longer cycles. Comfort: An conditioner running for a longer times gradually changes the temperature of the room, thus, giving a gradual increase in the comfort level. However, if the air conditioner designed to meet the set temperatures quickly, leads to sudden variations (decrease) in the temperatures, leading to less comfort level. Also, shorter cycles do not facilitate efficient humidity removal, thus leading to less comfort in the room. Thus, short cycle times are not recommended in case of air conditioners. What should be the ideal size of the air conditioner and ideal cycle time? There is no specific ideal cycle time for air conditioner as it completely depends on its cooling capacity and the room temperature and humidity. Typically, 10-20 minutes on cycle time should be good enough depending on the surrounding conditions. Usually, since an over-sized air conditioner has greater cooling capacity, it runs shorter cycle.