Idahoans Say the “Best” Air Conditioning Temperature is an Absolute Joke

Buckle up Boise! As of press time, we’re on Day #16 of a “hot spell” that could last for at least another 14 days, if not longer.

The National Weather Service explains that a hot spell is a series of two or more consecutive days where the high temperature is at or above the normal temperature for those dates. We knew it was hot, but we have been so busy that we didn’t look to see how long the excessive heat was going to last…until we came home to a note from our apartment complex’s manager. 

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The note explains that Boise would be experiencing higher than average temperatures for at least two weeks, but asked residents to keep their thermostats between 75-78º degrees to prevent the units from freezing as they work overtime. That request didn’t sit well with everyone. Even this author, who’s always cold, thought it seemed a little toasty so we did a little more digging to see if the request was as outrageous as some neighbors thought it was. 

Turns out that even Idaho Power recommends a similar range. They have a cooling page full of tips to help Idahoans stay cool while saving energy and money during extreme heat. Some of the tips are straightforward: close windows, blinds and curtains while the air is running and try to avoid using appliances like the oven, dishwasher or oven during the hottest parts of the day. Others we’d never really thought about. One of the tips suggested trying to cool yourself down with a cold shower rather than trying to turn your home into an igloo. 

If you scroll to the “Central A/C” dropdown, you’ll see that they recommend keeping your thermostat at 74-78º in the summer, too. They’re the experts, but that range doesn’t have a lot of support from Idahoans! We surveyed our listeners to see what their thermostat is set at this week. The people who responded think these “expert” recommendations are laughable. According to our research, Idahoans think 70-71º is the sweet spot.

Of course, there were extremes on both sides! Here’s the breakdown of our results: