It’s starting to get warm out there again as Spring is in full-effect and Summer is going to be coming quick. If you’re anything like me, then you know how uncomfortable it can be when you’re hot in your own home. I hate being hot, so I love air conditioning. I consider it one of the greatest inventions around, just due to how much I hate being hot. As someone who is relatively frugal, I’m always torn between blasting the AC on high and enjoying those frosty temperatures or saving money. Typically, I push toward saving money. The good thing is you can save money and use your AC if you just plan a little and use some technology. The majority of homeowners likely wonder whether it is better to turn off the AC while away or keeping it on all day. We certainly want to stretch every dollar, and we want the most efficient way of running things. But you also probably don’t want to die during the blistering heat of summer − which begs the question if turning the system off is worth the agony.

But some people believe that leaving an air conditioner at all times − even while away − is the better path towards smaller energy bills. I was lucky enough to have a HVAC technician help answer this question for me. Jason is a long-time HVAC tech who understands how air conditioners work and the answer to this constant question: “Should I turn off my AC while I’m away to save money?” Jason is going to take it from here! Being an HVAC technician for about 23 years, I’ve learned a good deal of how air conditioners work and how to maximize your indoor climate control efficiency. So, what about the belief that you shouldn’t turn off your air conditioner while away? The myth: Leaving your air conditioner on all day will help save money in the long run by not having to kick start it each and every time you turn it back on. By keeping your air conditioner on at all times during the day, you’re not using an air conditioner efficiently, because leaving the air on all day (even when you’re not home) results in a higher use of energy.

It would seem to be common sense that something that works harder is spending more energy, but this assumption is not an accurate reflection of how air conditioners work.  Fluctuating to accommodate for a constant temperature is far more taxing on an air conditioner than when it’s working at full capacity. Air conditioners work best when they are operating in full gear. Leaving the air conditioner on throughout the day is also more damaging to your system. You’ll see several years added to the life of your system if you use it only when necessary instead of relying on the superstition that constantly running a system is somehow beneficial. Cut this habit now, and you’ll also notice a difference in your utility bills in no time. Most people don’t realize that by altering the temperature on the thermostat by one degree, your air conditioner is working at a difference of 5% — resulting in you saving or wasting your money in the long run. Pick the temperature that is right for you and your family.

The best way to maximize your savings and your comfort level is to purchase a programmable thermostat. It’s one of the first things I purchase when I buy a home (if there isn’t one already present). They pay for themselves quickly and you can enjoy a comfortable house, a well-functioning air conditioner, and a happy family. There are some great ones out there to purchase, but here are a few of the most popular. should cover my ac unit winterCheck out the Most Popular Programmable Thermostatsac unit clearance If you own a Nest thermostat, then you already know just how much energy it can save; central ac units 3 tonbut if you don’t own one yet, you may be very surprised just how much you can cut your heating or cooling bill by getting one. It’s an unfortunate myth that the Nest thermostat is just a toy for smart home enthusiasts.

According to The National Academies, 41% of all energy consumed is from “powering” homes and businesses, with heating making up the largest portion of that energy usage. According to the Department of Energy, Americans spend $11 billion each year on energy requirements to cool their homes with air conditioners. This is especially true in Northern U.S., where the climate can get brutally cold in the Winter; and in Southern U.S., where temps get sweltering in the summer. Those cooling and heating costs add up fast. The reality is that if there were a Nest thermostat in every home, it would have the biggest single impact on energy consumption in history. If you bought a Nest thermostat, it could save you more money than you might imagine, with ultra-efficient heating and cooling of your home. When most people heat or cool their homes, they set the thermostat to a certain temperature they’re comfortable with, and forget about it. Or, they turn on their air conditioner at the start of the hottest season of the year, and usually leave it running around the clock.

This may be why heating and cooling are the two biggest energy consumers in the residential sector. It doesn’t have to be this way. The charts you’ll find from Nest customers at the Nest blog are nothing short of amazing. By letting the Nest learn the homeowner’s behaviors – when they will be out of the home and adjusting the temperature accordingly – the energy (and cost) savings were unbelievable. Can the Nest thermostat do this for you? The price tag of a few hundred dollars may feel steep, but when you add up the cost savings of consuming so much less energy heating or cooling your home, the cost is really mere pennies in comparison. There are many cool and simple integrations anyone can do with a Nest 13 Things You Didn't Know You Could Do With a Nest Thermostat You may be surprised just how many little tricks you can accomplish with your new Nest thermostat!So, let’s talk about how you can achieve these savings after you’ve bought and installed your Nest thermostat

How to Install and Use the Nest Thermostat to Automate Energy Savings If you've ever considered getting started with home automation, purchasing a Nest thermostat is the perfect way to start. In just a week of using it, we cut our energy consumption in half. The single most effective energy-saving feature added to the Nest thermostat is the “Auto-Away” feature. It sounds simple enough; Auto-Away basically figures out when you’re out of the house, and when you are, it’ll lower the thermostat settings so that any time you leave the house you’re saving money. When I first installed the thermostat, I assumed I could never use this feature because it must depend on the GPS of your cellphone being turned on all the time, and I usually keep my GPS turned off to save battery power on my phone. However, the next time I checked my energy usage on my online Nest dashboard, I noticed that the Nest was accurately tracking when I was away, and adjusting my thermostat settings for me.

This was kind of a shocker. How did the Nest know I was away from home when I never enabled my phone to tell it so? I visited the Nest website to research exactly what was going on, and this is what I found: “The Nest Learning Thermostat uses Nest Sense™ (an exclusive combination of sensors and algorithms) to notice when you’re away and when you come home. With Auto-Away, the Nest Thermostat turns itself down automatically when you’re away to prevent heating or cooling an empty home. Upon your arrival, the Nest Thermostat will return to your regular schedule.” After a bit more research, I learned that the Nest uses its built-in wide-angle motion sensor to identify the time of day when people appear to be at home. With an intelligent algorithm, the system eventually “learns” your patterns. If it turns down the thermostat and then senses that you’re still home, it’ll readjust the temperature, and then “correct” the algorithm to fix for that error.

Eventually, your Nest thermostat will know your typical at-home schedule even better than you do. If allowing the Nest to auto-adjust the temperature when you’re away from home doesn’t offer enough energy savings, you can also configure your own energy-saving schedule on top of that, using the Nest Schedule tool. If you already know what your typical weekly schedule is going to be, you can just program in the time of day that you need the Nest to lower your temperature. Work from 8am to 4pm every weekday without fail? No problem, just use the Schedule tool to turn the temperature down when you leave for work, and back up just a little bit before you return. Using the Schedule tool, you can also do clever energy saving things like having the thermostat turn the temperature down at night when you really don’t need the house to be quite as warm. Keep in mind that the Nest will also control your central air conditioning unit if you have one. In the case of A/C, you would basically adjust your schedule to set the temperature a little higher when you aren’t at home, and then cool the house around the time when you’re due to arrive.

Don’t have central A/C? Don’t worry about it. Did you know you can also use the Nest to control a WeMo or Smartthings power outlet using the Auto-Away trigger in IFTTT? In IFTTT, there are a lot of cool integrations you can do that’ll save you money IFTTT Recipes That Help You Save Money IFTTT can be used to do nearly anything, and saving money is no exception. Here are some of the best recipes to help you live more frugally.This is especially true if you have a Nest thermostat. For example, you can use the Nest’s Away trigger to turn off the air conditioner power outlet whenever you leave home. Or you can use the Nest’s temperature sensor to turn the A/C power outlet on whenever your home’s temperature reaches a certain point. The catch of course is that you’ll need an in-window A/C unit that automatically turns on when the wall outlet power turns on, without the need to press the “on” button. If you don’t have one that’s capable of doing that and are considering buying a new A/C unit – then you may actually want to consider getting a Smart air conditioner like the Quirky air conditioner – it really isn’t that much more expensive than a regular one!

If you are uncertain about trusting the Nest algorithm to know exactly when you’re away from home, you could always make use of your smartphone’s GPS The Top 3 Free Offline GPS Apps For Android Google Navigation for Android is one of the best map solutions you can get in the palm of your hand, but what if you don’t have a data connection? Whether you’re traveling abroad, using a... to ensure it knows exactly when you’re away. Set a trigger on IFTTT that takes activates any time your phone (you) leaves a predefined area around your home. Combine the trigger with an action to turn down your Nest thermostat. Using this setup, you’re guaranteed to always save energy (and money) any time you leave home. This is really only the tip of the iceburg when it comes to ways you can cut down your energy costs even further through Nest automation. Use the trigger from a Smartsense Multi Sensor to recognize when someone has opened a window in the room, and have the Nest immediately turn off the air conditioning to avoid energy waste, or from overloading the your central air system.

Each of these smart home solutions Kickstart Your Smart Home With 4 Easy Projects Creating a smart home might sound like a huge undertaking, and it can be difficult to know where to start. But it's not as hard as you might think! simply adds yet another tool to your energy saving toolbox. The more clever integrations you add to your Nest, the further down your energy waste will go, and the higher your energy savings will climb. Obviously, you can’t do any of these things if you’re still living in a home with an antiquated thermostat. Buying and installing a Nest is the first significant step in achieving your energy saving goals. Are you now convinced to buy a Nest thermostat? Are there any other innovative smart home integrations you can think of that would lead to even more energy savings? Share your ideas in the comments section below! Image Credits: piggy bank via Shutterstock, Christian Delbert via Shutterstock, Smartsense Motion Sensor courtesy of Smartthings, Smartthings Presence Sensor Courtesy of Smartthings, Smartsense Multi Sensor courtesy of Smartthings