Turning off AC for several days in Houston: any dangerous consequences?

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by Ghost Town

WiFi thermostat? To be honest I hate those things. People lived happier lives in 1960s-70s without those fancy gadgets. I prefer sticking to old school ways whenever possible. Especially I will be traveling oversees and the least thing I want to do during the trip is look for the damn thermostat all the time.

I really don't want another app on my phone either. More apps mean more updates, though iPhones rarely fail to update automatically (unlike Android with having to check 3 places and the Play Store refresh is temperamental).

Originally Posted by cBach

I had a friend who had a Vegas vacation house that left the A/C off even in 120 degrees. When you got to the house he stated "crank the A/C and then go to the casino for a few hours". There were no harmful effects from the heat but there is no humidity in Vegas.

A few years ago, back when I had cable TV, I was channel surfing and bumped into the middle of Flipping Vegas. Scott was mad that the wood floors were installed too early, with the a/c not installed yet. They checked the house a day or two after the new floors were installed and they buckled in the dry Vegas summer heat. He cursed (as usual) and ended up having to redo the floors (lost profit).

[cBach]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

I really don't want another app on my phone either. More apps mean more updates, though iPhones rarely fail to update automatically (unlike Android with having to check 3 places and the Play Store refresh is temperamental).



A few years ago, back when I had cable TV, I was channel surfing and bumped into the middle of Flipping Vegas. Scott was mad that the wood floors were installed too early, with the a/c not installed yet. They checked the house a day or two after the new floors were installed and they buckled in the dry Vegas summer heat. He cursed (as usual) and ended up having to redo the floors (lost profit).

This home didn't have any wood floors, just tile floors that looked like wood. I guess if you had wood floors it may be an issue.

This guy had a very low utility bill because he could keep the A/C off in the summer unless visiting and the A/C was so strong that within an hour you could get the temp down to 78 or so.

[Ghost Town]

For older floors I guess it's not a major concern cause the wood settled already. I have tile all over the first floor and that's not a great concern either. Temperature is not something I would worry about too, because the first floor never gets above 83 even if I turn AC off for 4-5 days in the middle of summer in Houston. Second floor gets to the mid 90s max. But I am most worried about prolonged effect of humidity plus temperature combined. I heard rumors about the mold in drywall because of the lack of AC. I don't know, maybe it's also not the case in Houston since the humidity here is not very high (50-70% vs 80-95% on the East Coast).
For instance, right now my weather app is showing only 48% humidity in Houston which is actually pretty dry. Funny that one of the first things most people tend to complain about is humidity in Houston. It's not as high as East Coast humidity.

[SoHoVe]

Originally Posted by cBach

I had a friend who had a Vegas vacation house that left the A/C off even in 120 degrees. When you got to the house he stated "crank the A/C and then go to the casino for a few hours". There were no harmful effects from the heat but there is no humidity in Vegas.

I would imagine in Houston you'd probably want to not let the thermostat get above 82 or so. Or if you have a two stage A/C unit just run the one stage dehumidifier.

Having lived in and done this in both cities, I didn't notice any effects either place but both the homes I had in TX were older. I think I would rather just pay for the A/C while away than risk it, though I doubt a few days would cause problems assuming no other issues being present with the building.