[MrsHutto]

DH and I have decided we need to program our thermostat to cut back a little during the day (when we're not home) to save on energy costs. Currently, it's set on 74 degrees, constantly. We live in SC, so it's upwards of 102 degrees, outside, right now. I'm a little worried about a change in temp during the day, as my two adult dogs (5-lb Poodle & 10-lb Doxie) are crated inside while we work. What do you think would be a comfortable temperature for the kiddos while we're away?

 

[BeachBaby]

We're in florida and keep the temp at 80 degrees inside. We have a 6 lb. maltipoo (full coat of hair) he does fine at this temp. I am not sure though with being crated.

 

[beks37]

I think they'd be okay at 80 degrees at least. You could probably even go a degree or 2 higher, just make sure they have access to fresh water. My doggies stay outside all day while I'm at work.

 

[pollypurebred39]

I'm not sure about what the best temperature would be, but we always left the air on what seemed like a reasonable temperature. Determined by if she was panting or not, it came out to a level 6 on our unit. Then we set up a fan so our girl could lay in front of it if she wanted. We also kept her fur trimmed short in the warmer months, and left her with ice water in her water bowl. She also had the choice of her mat or the cooler hardwood floors.

So maybe keep the crate floor without a mat so they could be cooler. Leave them with a bowl of ice water each morning. Set up a fan (if they like that kind of thing) that blows towards their crate. But make sure there is a part of the crate where they can escape the air if they chose. And while at home play with the temperature to determine their comfort level. I think each breed just may have a different optimal degree, but you should be able to find a temperature that's agreeable to both.

Oh, and I'd make sure each crate was out of direct sunlight.

 

[craftypam]

This makes me so chuckle! I was just discussing this with dh. My ds is concerned about his air conditioning not working right because he has a new baby. My sister acted like her daughter when she was a baby could not be w/o a/c. We did not even have air until 1990. We had dogs and kids and everyone survived. My dh and I both grew up and survived w/o air conditioning.

 

[MrsHutto]

Thanks, y'all!

I was thinking around 80 degrees. I keep all the blinds and drapes closed during the day, so there's no direct sunlight and the ceiling fans are on at all times. Plus, I keep the Poodle shaved during the summer months to help keep her cool.

 

[Libby]

MrsH - thats what I was going to suggest - keep the fans on to circulate the cooler air around so when the air hits the dogs, it gives off the wind chill effect. As long as the shades are drawn and theres water for them to drink throughout the day - I think you'll be ok.

 

[Spirit Deer]

I'm not convinced doing stuff like that saves any money. How much harder will your AC have to work to cool your house down from 80 to 74 when you get home from work? IMO, it's easier to maintain a temp than keep changing it. But that's just an opinion. I do know we gave up turning our furnace down at night because it had to run constantly for hours to bring the temp back up in the morning, and that couldn't possibly have saved us any money. We didn't see any change in our bills, either.

 

[craftypam]

When I turn my air off at night; the house temp doesn't change because it's cooler outside and its cool enough in the house. When I turn it back on in the morning the house has not heated up because the sun hasn't been out. I have found my electric bills to be more reasonable doing it this way.

 

[Spirit Deer]

That makes sense to me, Craftypam, except if your house does not warm up at night, the AC wouldn't run anyway. But the OP is talking about setting the AC at a higher temp during the day, then, I assume, cooling the house down again after work. That's the scenario I wonder about saving any money on.

 

[craftypam]

You are right about the daytime. My a/c still does periodically turn on at night even when I feel the house is comfortable enough. Another reason we started this is the a/c unit is right outside our bedroom and quite noisy.

 

[frugalfranny]

I would agree with the 80 degree postings but think it could be higher too.

Saying this assuming............ 1. they won't be in ANY direct sunlight.

And......2. they each have their own water container in the kennel.

A fan to keep the air circulating will do wonders for them........

I remove the kennel blankets from my one 'nappy haired' poodle in the summer...........she stays cooler that way.

Also.........this would depend on the size of the kennel to the size of the dog.

Both of mine can lie down and stretch out COMPLETELY in their house kennel........plenty of room. (travel kennel, not so much!)

 

[Spirit Deer]

You are right about the daytime. My a/c still does periodically turn on at night even when I feel the house is comfortable enough. Another reason we started this is the a/c unit is right outside our bedroom and quite noisy.

We rarely run ours at night either. Up here, it's rarely warm enough to warrant it at night. Plus I like to sleep with the windows open so I can hear the loons.

I was thinking about it today and think it depends how much space there is to be cooled whether or not it would save anything to turn the thermostat up during the day. Cooling a small space will obviously be a lot quicker than cooling a large house, and therefore a lot less expensive.

 

[tervsforme]

I keep mine at 80 during the day as well. I have large dogs, Belgian Shepherds, with full double coats and they are fine. They have access to water and since they aren't very active in the house, they don't get too hot. I also only turn the air down to 78-79 when I get home, so I don't think my a/c runs too much extra to cool it down that extra degree or two.

 

[savvy_sniper]

Houston Texas here and it is hot and humid. The A/C is set on 81 during the day. If you are concerned about them at this temp you could leave a fan on in the room they are crated in.

 

[Spirit Deer]

I don't think 80 is a dangerous temp unless it's the outside air temp and your dogs are in a closed car, but that's another issue entirely.

 

[krbshappy71]

Mine are kenneled in a small bedroom with the AC set to 80 degrees. If the power goes out (which has been happening lately) the AC kicks back on at its default temp of 76 degrees. Hmmm maybe the dogs are intentionally turning off the power, ha!! (kidding, its brownouts)

2 different dogs are rotated out each day for play time, the AC helps with the humidity of their panting as they play, I really notice a difference from when I didn't have the AC setup for the season yet.

 

[Nana2two]

We keep ours between 78 and 85 depending on the humidity for the day. The last 2 weeks its been at 78 because outside its been 115 We have a saint. So she seems to do ok. She of course is not crated and we have a floor fan she lays in front of all the time.She is 160 pounds

 

[xtena]

I am in Vegas where it averages over 100 the entire summer...often in the 110's. Rather than up it at the day then make the air conditioner work harder to cool it down when you get home, have you considered upping the temperature while you are home then keeping it at that steady rate? Take time to acclimatize. Say set it at 75 for a week; then 76; then 77...I keep mine at 77. I will go higher next year if I get my ceiling fans installed. I have a two story and right now if I set it at 78 I am comfortable downstairs but it gets too hot upstairs.

My July electric bill was $260, which nearly gave me a heart attack until I saw that my usage was around $90 below average. Many of my friends have summer month bills in the mid to high 300 range; they are the ones keeping their air conditioner between 70 and 75 degrees. Anyway it's something to think about.

 

[Buc-O-Mama]

We are in FL and our AC is always set at 80. It's been a dramatic saver for us, and we raised the temp a degree every two or three days to help us adjust before going any higher. Over time, we became comfortable and the saving has been almost 20 percent.

That being said, it seems like that is a pretty dramatic temperature fluctuation for them to go through in a short period of time. You will be putting them in the crates then the temp will raise 6 degrees or so during the course of the day. They might really feel it. If it was going to be a stable, higher temp that they could adjust to I would think they would be fine, but being confined then having the temp raise that much might be hard on them. Maybe you could try it on a day when you could be home and observe how they do? Either that or raise it only a degree or two while you are gone.

For what it's worth, last year after major AC repair issues, the repairman told me to never expect my thermostat to rise quickly after it's been hotter than usual in the house because everything holds heat, and it puts a drain on the system.