I recently got into an fight with a neighbor about an air conditioner topic.
My neighbor stated that it makes more sense financially plus environmentally to turn your central air conditioner off when you go to work, then to turn it back on when you go home.
His logic also applied to running errands such as grocery shopping, or if you are at apartment plus feeling care about you do not need the air conditioner to be on at that moment. My side of the fight is that you should leave the air conditioner running when you are at work, however make sure to adjust the thermostat to set the temperature a bit higher when you are away plus then you can turn it down a bit when you get apartment to maximize your indoor comfort. My neighbor did not agree with my side of this air conditioner fight because he said that I am wasting energy plus money when I am not at home. I see where he is coming from, however I explained that it will actually take more energy to cool the apartment after the air conditioner has been off. The people I was with and I live in a tepid plus humid area, so to turn the a/c off, plus then back on requires a lot of energy. He stated that I am ruining the environment by consistently running my air conditioner. I politely reminded him that I am not consistently running the air conditioner all year plus that I only have it on at all times in the summer. I also have a smart thermostat which helps save energy plus money. He did not open up to my side of the fight, however I am comfortable using my smart thermostat plus that works best for me.