In a recent Talk of the South newsletter, we asked readers, “What’s the AC temperature in your house, and who sets it?” Here are a few of the many responses:
72 degrees during the day and 70 degrees at night. My wife has full control. 🙂 —Jeff B.
68 upstairs and 71 downstairs. Mama sets it and nobody better touch it. —D.S.S.
The temp is never the same. He wants it 78 year round; I want it 75. I adjust it after he goes to bed and back up when he’s not looking. —Sherry B.
The Great Thermostat Compromise was signed our first year of marriage: 74 during the day, 70 at night. —Savannah T.
72-75-72-75-72-75 … me-she-me-she-me-she. —Dale S.
We’re fortunate to have a zoned system. I set the upstairs at 76. My beloved sets the downstairs either on “hang beef” or “county morgue.” —K. Scott K.
It seems to vacillate on a 30-minute basis, depending on who’s passing by the thermostat. —Kaye L.
73. It’s just me and the dog, and he’s too short to reach the controls. —Kathleen M.
75, and I, the wife, set the temp. Just because you come in from the heat does not mean the temp has to be lowered. YOU need to adjust! —Shelia
It depends. If we have Nashville Hot Chicken for dinner, we put it on 65 degrees. —Ron
Husband’s answer: The thermostat is set on “cold enough to kill hogs,” and my wife sets it. Truth: Our thermostat is set on 72, and, yes, I set it. —Gwen H.
75. Mom (the bill payer) sets it. —Karen M.
Hot Honey Menopause Momma (that’s me) desperately needs it at 68 to combat those sweaty nights. Arctic, penny-pinchin’ gramps, who can’t stand the breeze from the ceiling fan, wants it at 75. So it usually ends up somewhere around 72 when the battle dust settles. —Cassandra S.
Believe it or not, I’ve never had AC. An old trick is to fill our bathtubs and sinks up with cold running water to absorb the humidity in the air. A new trick is to turn on a few Dyson standing blade-less fans. Cuts the temp down by quite a lot. —Bradford B.
72 and me. Everyone else needs a parka, but that’s groovy. —Michael F.
My husband likes 75 in the summer and 68 in the winter. Me? Exact opposite. —Gail T.
We are a household of two 70+ year-old ladies. The temp is set at 72 in the morning, but at 3, it is inched up to 73, then 74 by 5, and back down at bedtime. —Rachel C.
In the north Georgia mountains, we say there “ain’t nothin’ worse than a hot sleep.” Being a 50-year-old woman, I set the bedroom AC to as cold as is needed to prevent a “hot sleep.” Typically that’s about 70 from May to September. —Pam F.
76. Ceiling fans in every room. Exhaust fans in kitchen and baths. Plantation shutters, open porches with ceiling fans, oak trees. —Frankie R.
Mom, and Mom alone, sets it. She controls the cool, and not just the temperature: She decides when the windows get shut and the AC turned on, preferring fresh air but abhorring summer humidity. —Laura M.
We are set at 74. —Marlene M.
It’s set on 67 to 68. Husband sets it at wife’s request. —William P.
My hubby wants it 77 or 78. I’m more of a 74 or 75 kind of girl. For about the first 25 years of our 38-year marriage, it was completely opposite. Then I hit menopause and I guess he hit “man-opause,” because we switched personal thermostats. —Genie S.
It’s bad … but I set the AC at 67 each evening before bed. I can control it from an app on my phone. Almost any other 49-year-old woman would understand—we have to sleep! We are hot! —Elizabeth G.
67 by night when I set it, 72 by day when the wife wakes up asking why the heck it’s so cold, despite the nightly ritual. —Tyler B.
The minute my husband leaves for work in the morning, I crank it up. Gotta remember to lower the temp about 45 minutes before he comes through the door after work. By then I am wearing socks and have two blankets ready on my side of the bed for the night. —Lee R.
At my ranch, I set it at 69 all year long. My husband comes out on weekends, and we go behind one another. Him up to 74 … me down to 69 … him up to 74 … me down to 68. Him up to 74 … me down to 67. Every time he goes up, I notch it down another degree. Life is great! —Nadine
The lady of the house sets the thermostat depending on the intensity of her Personal Summers (aka hot flashes). I respectfully and quietly adjust by keeping a sweatshirt or t-shirt close at hand. —Jack C.
My wife sets it on 72, and when she goes to sleep, I change it to 74. Everybody is happy. —Rob
78 in the day and 75 at night with fans going nonstop. —Tim and Cheryl R.
Ours fluctuates between 76-79 usually. He bumps it down, I bump it up, all without a word and we are content. If it was just me, I’d have the doors and windows open and fans on until it’s unbearable. —Angie B.
I have no idea what the AC settings are in my house. Two rules: 1) I’m not allowed to touch the thermostat, and 2) I must have a permission slip before picking paint colors at the paint store. —Tommy R.
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