Some tips to minimize a/c usage with zero loss of comfort: 1. You only need you to be cool, not the entire room or building. Find solutions that cool you - inc

Some tips to minimize a/c usage with zero loss of comfort: 1. You only need you to be cool, not the entire room or building. Find solutions that cool you - including wearing cool, loose-fitting clothing. It's absurd to warm yourself up by trapping body heat and then to use an a/c unit to cool the entire room / suite / building in order to cool yourself down again. 2. Use fans; enjoy the pleasures of a gentle breeze. Convection is a powerful thing, and unless the ambient air is warmer than your body temperature, the breeze probably will cool you off. The new tower fans are especially effective and user-friendly - they aren't ugly, you don't need to attach them to anything and they don't need much clearance, and the breeze is well-attenuated. Their effect is surprisingly powerful. 3. Imagine what temperature would be comfortable for sitting outside, in the shade, with a breeze (see #2). 26-27C (~79-81F)? A little lower? A little higher? Maybe even experiment a little, and set your thermostat to that temperature. 4. Never turn on the a/c if it's cool enough outside (see #3). If you need more air exchange with the outside, get an exhaust fan. 5. Open the windows when it's cool outside, then as soon as it starts warming up - probably at sunrise - close them. (I wish there was a home automation system that would do it for me). Even on ~30C+ (86F+) days, that's been enough to keep the place cool until mid-afternoon. 6. If none of that is enough, turn on the a/c. I'll bet you won't want it nearly as often. I'd guess that we've cut our a/c usage by ~80% with zero impact on our comfort.