In the house, why does heat set at 68 feel different than ac set on 68? It’s the same temperature but they feel very different!
In: Other
It’s probably several differences reasons and I can think of three.
1. Humidity plays a big part in how the air feels. If you’re heating to 68 then it’s likely winter time and humidity is low. If you’re cooling to 68 then it’s summer and humidity is high (though the AC does pull water from the air, it could very well still be wetter than winter air.
2. Depending on the current season, 68 can feel cold or warm because you’re more accustom to the current outside temp. In the winter, 68 feels warm compared to the outside temperature and you’re likely wearing more clothes. In the summer, 68 may feel a bit chilly because it’s hot outside and you’re likely wearing less clothes.
3. It’s 68 according to the thermostat which is only capable of reading the temperature of the air that directly surrounds it, meaning the actual average temperate of the room could be higher or lower.
Let’s say it’s winter and you’re heating to 68. The vent that supplies the heat is on the opposite side of the room as the thermostat. The heat will kick on until the thermostat reads 68, but the air outside the vent could reach a temperature much higher than that before the air around the thermostat heats up. This means the average temperature of the room would be a little higher than 68.
The opposite would happen in the summer, where the air around the vent would become much colder before the air around the thermostat hit 68, meaning the room would be colder on average.
In other words, your thermostat says it’s 68 in both cases, but it’s likely a bit hotter when heating and bit colder when cooling.
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