Just A Half-Hour Kiss Of Air Conditioning -- Perfect!

So when my parents went out to Africa on safari a couple weeks ago, I jacked up the thermostat.  I didn't mind it being cool in the house -- there were times when Father wouldn't turn it on no matter how hot I got -- but the settings as they were when they left on vacation were a little too low for me.  Besides, I'm now paying for the cooling bill, and I'm not going to cool the house if no one's in it.  What am I, made out of money?  (I know this is My Father talking; if the 20-year-old me could look at present me now, he'd shake his head at how money-conscious I've become.)

So, following guidelines set by the United States Department Of Energy, in the summertime my thermostat should be set at 78 degrees, and when no one's home, put it between seven and ten degrees higher.  So even though I didn't change the times the new limits kicks in throughout the day (Father put those times all cattywampus, and they're so weird I decided not to change them myself), I put it at 78 when I was here and 85 when I wasn't.  Didn't really matter that I changed the temps; like I said here, it only kicked for the first time under my settings about 13 days after they left and a couple days before they were to come home.

Thing is, my parents either don't remember that I told them that I raised the temperatures on the thermostat or they don't care, because Father hasn't fiddled with the thermostat since they've been back.  That may be because the weather since they've returned has been seasonal, and maybe even a bit cooler than average, so they haven't really sweated in the house since coming back from safari.  With that being said, for the past few overnights, the air conditioning hasn't started up until 1 in the morning, which is when the thermostat high temp drops from 85 to 78.  Again, it hasn't been that hot all day, but apparently it is warm enough that it apparently is above 78 by the time 1 a.m. rolls around.

Like clockwork the past few nights, it comes on and then, after about 30 minutes, it shuts itself off.  Frankly, feeling the air conditioning through the vents feels really nice.  Moreover, it shuts down relatively quickly, and the air feels both much cooler and drier afterward.  It's cool and dry enough that the air conditioning doesn't start up again until 1 o'clock the next night.  And that's great; sometimes Father swings the pendulum too far in the other direction and the AC is on for so long it makes the house too cold, and that in turn increases the energy bill.  It's a win-win.

Now, summer comes back with a vengeance this weekend, when it'll be both hot and humid until, I think, Tuesday.  I alerted Father that I changed the thermostat once, but I might have to remind him again if even I think 78 degrees is too high a setting and want the air conditioning to blare all weekend.