HELP!!! Leaving windows open with heater and A/C running! Please settle this debate???

Question

My husband leaves the window open next to a window A/C. He leaves the windows open upstairs half way when the central heat is running. He leaves his windows open while driving down the road with the A/C running. This drives me nuts!!! I am green and he is brown. I mean he does not conserve energy or resources. I am very strict. Please settle this for us. Who is right???

Only the seriously educated need respond.

Answer 1

Your husband is not only not conserving he is making the equipment involved work that much harder thus shortening its life.

Why would he want to pay more for heating costs, gas etc by doing this. It serves no purpose.

In a car, the a/c fan operates based on the temp inside the vehicle. If the temp outside is 90F and he has the temp in the car set to 20...with the window open, if the car is reasonably new, the compressor runs that much more as it tries to bring the temp in the car down to the set temp.

Similar for the home and the heater or a/c...a window a/c unit if older may not have this type of sensor mechanism but it will still operate at full steam dependent on what it is set at, and regardless whether the room eventually gets to a temp whereby he would normally turn the conditioner down lower...with the window open, it never gets there because the a.c is then only recirculating the hot air from outside rather than circulating the air in the room and expelling it to the outside.

The heater in both home (furnace?) and car operate under the same premise...so if he is after higher operating costs and fuel deficiency lost effectiveness...he wins. If you are after more efficiency and less expense (not to mention the green issue and its benefits) then you win. It all depends on what is most important to both of you and what you'd rather be left with...more money or less. Greening your life goes without saying...we should each try to do what we can in that respect.

Answer 2

We leave ours open all the time (in warm weather of course). We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow so opening anything isn't much of an option now. Almost all windows mfg. since the 1970's have "stops" built into them that allow you to open your windows slightly--and prohibit them from opening on the outside. Check yours to see if they have that option. The stops are on the portion that doesn't slide. Or, if you can always make your own by inserting a screw or nail in the frame so the window will stop when it is only open a few inches. Unless you live in the inner city or a ghetto, I wouldn't be too concerned with a murderer coming in to kill you. The vast majority of people who are murdered are victims of someone they know. The percentage killed by strangers is very small small. Check online on your city/county website for the actual crime rate around you. Get the true facts. There are certainly enough things that are justified to worry about, no sense worrying unnecessarily. Life's too short.

Answer 3

What a coincidence that is, I do the same thing as your husband and also hear about it all the time. As much as I want the A/C or heat I simply gasp for fresh air at the same time.
Look into a quality air exchanger for the house, as far as the car goes, guess the window stays open.

Answer 4

Is your husband paying the bills?, if he is, point at him and laugh next time he gets the bill, he is not only wasting resources he is spending his money by being dumb. Don't get mad , get even.

If you both are paying for the bills tell him you won't pay the power or central AC anymore since he is spending a lot more than you are, there is no way to measure how much money he is wasting in this excentric behavior so he should be the one to pay for that bill by himself. If he doesn't pay it call and ask the power company to cut your power, you don't use the AC anyways and you can use candles in your house. That'll teach him.

My point: you are absolutely right of course.

Answer 5

He is stupid. Why open the window when you have the heat/cold running? Is he mentally ill? Take him down on the floor and give your husband toys to play with, not real cars, just LEGO or something. He needs a doctor your man.

Answer 6

To be honest, I do the same thing. Breathing stale, recirculated air non-stop is just plain bad, no matter how "green" you are. I don't like to have the heat constantly blasting in the absence of fresh air. I believe it contributes to upper respiratory problems.

*looks over at window.....* My window is open about 1.5 inches as we speak, and it's in the middle 50's down here in SC.

Sorry, but I'm going to have to go with your husband on this one. It may not be PC or "green", but it's just better for your body.

Answer 7

I will add my endorsement to that of the others. Your husband is doing something incredibly stupid or else he is deliberately trying to antagonize you. Perhaps you could ask your utility to do one of those energy audits. I hear some do them for free. An "expert" from the electric or gas company may convince him. Or you might make the point by dumping the vacuum cleaner bag out onto the floor. It would be essentially the same thing.

Answer 8

Have the guts to stand up to him. If you're so "strict" as you claim to be, why isn't he listening to you??? It's obvious that he doesn't respect your opinions, so you might needs to change your attitude. Neither you nor your husband are in the right. And I'm a seriously educated person btw.

Answer 9

Your husband is a terrible waster of energy who apparently likes one of two things: Either he loves driving you crazy (at which he is apparently being very successful), or he likes really fresh air. (Get him an air cleaner for Valentine's Day! lol)

Answer 10

It's obvious that your husband doesn't mind throwing your money away. Have you asked him WHY he does this? He sounds like a control freak who wants it ALL.