Optimal AC Settings to Prevent Freezing – How Low Should You Go?

What surprises Europeans when they come to the United States?

Just got back from a two-week holiday trip (in the latter part of May 2018), which I spent mostly in NYC and, to a lesser extent, in D.C. and Miami.
I’m a native-born Finn living in Finland. This was my second trip to the US. The first one was a while back – in the summer of 1995.
Observations off the top of my head, in no particular order:
Maintenance (or lack of thereof) of buildings and infrastructure. Some places (facets of urban and rural environment; buildings, infrastructure) are exceedingly well-maintained. Some others are very run-down, gritty and grimy; seemingly only held together by duck tape and lots of hope. The contrast between the two is striking; especially as the well-maintained and not-so-well-maintained details vary so much and so unexpectedly, even within a single building or an establishment occupying that building.

A prime example of this is the electrical wiring and installations, which may seem oddly ”hacked-up” and improvised even in some otherwise neatly-maintained buildings. Or, say, the Union Station in Washington, D.C. where the Amtrak platform is seemingly in a state of neglect and disrepair, and then you enter a similarly non-maintained, very quiet arrivals hall, and then through the doors into something that seems like a little mall from the late 1990s (which looks like it was never properly renovated since first taken in use), and finally get into a well-maintained, beautiful old station hall – all of which are parts of the same station building complex but seem to get quite different levels of care and attention! It is all very weird. 😀

Contrasts and combinations like these are surprising when compared to what you can expect from similar public spaces in Nordic countries which are typically neatly maintained throughout.
Friendly people actively offering their help to you whenever you appear to be a bit lost or in the need of directions or guidance. I got this a number of times in various places; especially at subway/MetroRail stations and such, where there are different kinds of ticket-vending machines, several exits to various streets, and a labyrinth of platforms, turnstiles, hallways, staircases and escalators on several levels and in different directions, and where you don’t always know right away where to head or what to do.

(To clarify, I certainly expected to get answers by asking directions from passers-by if need be, but I never expected to get pro-actively offered help by random denizens of a big city – especially not in NYC or Miami. Having so many friendly people actively offer their help was a pleasant surprise. One would think they’d all be fed up with tourists and travelers but that was not my experience at all. Very big thumbs up for this!)
Strikingly noisy urban environment. I didn’t quite notice this back on my 1995 trip but during by 2018 trip, the level of noise was very noticeable. It seemed that every commercial or public transit vehicle (trucks, buses, subway cars) made two or three times the noise their European counterparts do – I’m not sure how that’s even technically possible. (I might have lost some amount of hearing during the last trip…)

The NYC subway system, in particular, is very impressive – but boy what an absolutely huge amount of clanking and rattling and screeching and wheezing it makes when compared to the whisper-quiet metro transit systems I’ve ridden in Europe. My hotel in NYC was located near the Queens Plaza / Queensboro Plaza subway stations (a junction of elevated subway tracks) and the noise the subway cars made when approaching or departing the stations was positively deafening – especially on the street level, but it was also very noticeable while staying in the hotel room itself, windows closed.

I must admit, though, that there was an odd mechanistic, gritty NYC charm to it all – especially when three subway trains were approaching the station(s) from different directions at the same time and making all the noise in the world and blowing their horns… It was almost a visceral experience! But I’d hate to be living in such a noisy environment for prolonged periods of time – or would need to invest heavily in earplugs and noise-cancelling headphones…

Another thing which struck me as odd in the urban noise-making department was the level at which the “background” music was played in various cafes, bagel stores, restaurants and such – including big chains such as Starbucks. It was straight night-club sound levels during daytime! You never hear music blasted out so loud in such establishments in Finland – at least not daytime. Customers had to shout their orders to be heard, and the employees had to shout back. Ordinary conversation when sitting at tables was almost out of question because of the music, and this was not just one or two places but seemed to be the ”standard” all round. The places playing music at reasonable volume were the exception.
In Florida, the hot and humid climate outdoors but contrasting freezing-cold AC indoors. Not sure what to make of this preference of making such a pronounced contrast between the indoors and outdoors climate. It almost feels like you should wear a different set of clothes for outdoors and indoors, and change your clothes at the door when entering or exiting any building with a running AC.

It was also initially difficult to determine what to wear for the day as you could not get a feel of the outdoor temperature when staying in your AC-cold hotel room – and even the lobby of the hotel was like a walk-in fridge compared to the wall of hot, humid air that awaited you outside the building.

I would definitely prefer to have AC in this climate – no doubt about that – but still turn it down a notch or two in order not to make the difference between the indoors and outdoors so jarring.

Then again, to my surprise, I think I started getting used to this practice and eventually tolerated the “standard” indoor AC coldness in various places better even in my shorts, at least by the last few days of my stay… (Overall, I’m not quite sure about this. Would need a longer period of experimentation to make up my mind.)

For reference, in Finland, the highest daytime temperatures will typically only rise above 25 °C (77 °F) for a few days or weeks during summer, and the climate is not generally too humid, so you can easily make do with a table-top fan during those “hot” days. Any rain will immediately lower the temperature. The temperature will also typically go down as soon as the sun sets – except maybe when there’s been a longer period of warm days and the walls of the buildings have stored some of that thermal energy.
One of the things that surprised me in Miami was the concept of having large malls where the concourse between the stores only has a canopy and no outer walls, but the layout of the building is still otherwise like any walled mall. I can certainly get why this is. It is just something I’ve not seen done before, living in a drier and colder climate.
I’m not sure what to make of the design of the local buses in Miami, some of which had a “hot-seat” bench at the back – the bench was apparently situated directly atop the engine and actively trying to fry your nether parts… I wonder who came up with that design, and why exactly is it allowed, and what the sperm count of Miamians is who ride that bus. 😛
The non-voluntary (in practice) tipping culture (aka service-industry worker wages policy), and who exactly to tip and when and how much – the pet peeve of people visiting the US. OK, this was not really a surprise as such but a well-known “US thing”, but you just never quite know if you’re doing it “right” – and by reading the different guidelines on the Internet (of which there are dozens!), the locals don’t really know, either, but apparently just try to navigate their way through that weird system and maybe out-do each other in their displays of generosity, ostensibly by tipping an ever-increasing number of people by ever-increasing amounts of money each year, and then trying to make each other feel bad if they don’t tip as much. 😀

It makes me wonder what you’re going to do when entering a cashless society (which is the direction we’re going in the Nordic countries), or if you ever will…
No final checkout prices printed on price tags. This was not a surprise, either, but a well-known “US thing”. Just mentioning it here because it makes the shopping experience somewhat awkward when coming from a country where you’re required by law to get to see the exact amount you pay at checkout on the price tags – and you still get to see the amount of taxes you pay just as well – it’s printed on your receipt.
The sheer number of people in the work force whose job is seemingly quite menial and probably low-paid and not requiring huge amounts of schooling or a degree. There seem to be an awful lot of valets, bellboys, couriers, floor sweepers, trash-pickers, rent-a-cops (who only keep an eye on a certain narrowly-defined area of an establishment, standing in a corner and monitoring their designated area), sales clerks (who only manage certain aisles or sectors of a store), grocery baggers, doormen, ticket-booth managers, parking lot guards, toll booth guards and whatnot. Also, many stores had announcements posted on their windows stating that they’re hiring people for such jobs.

It is a very big difference when compared to a country like Finland where it is difficult to get any job at all if you don’t have a degree, and where the “menial” shoe-polishing type jobs have mostly ceased to exist, and where the minimum wage requirements and terms of employment are such that no manager in their right mind would hire that many people to do such narrowly-defined jobs, anyway, but use some other means to achieve the same purpose, such as self-service or automation.

(I’m not taking a stance on which is a better way to run a society or manage the workforce; just noting that there’s a big difference in this regard between the US and Finland. It is also why in Finland, there’s no job market to speak of e.g. for illegal immigrants, or for immigrants without a locally-acknowledged degree. Everything employment-related generally needs to be thoroughly recorded and documented, and as an employer, you need to diligently dot your i’s and cross your t’s or you’ll get in trouble with the authorities.)
NYC and Washington, D.C., seem to be easy to access as a pedestrian, and also when using public transit.

Miami, in contrast, seems to be somewhat less welcoming towards pedestrians – with some sidewalks having awkward detours due to construction work and crosswalks often being offered only on one side of an intersection (and also with the US-1 taking quite some time to cross as there are generally no underpasses or overpasses for pedestrians and getting a green man takes some time!), but still not as hostile as I expected, and has quite a lot of public transit options as well.
I sort of expected the Amtrak passenger train (which I took from NYC to DC) to be “less developed” or less comfortable than the European passenger trains – thinking that Americans do not use this mode of transport a lot, or as extensively these days – but was pleasantly surprised to find out this not to be the case. Traveling comfort was on the same level as the European offerings. (Having to board the train as if boarding a plane – queuing up in front of a “gate” and then being let in onto the platform at a predefined time and needing to enter the car quickly, ushered by some lady in a uniform – was a slightly funny detail, though.)
Please note that these are merely observations of notable differences, not criticism. My trip was absolutely great! 🙂 I got to see a loads of nice and impressive things, and can now strike off many sights and things to do from my bucket list for which I did not have time during my earlier trip to the US. All the cities I visited (NYC, DC, Miami) were great experiences – and as far as I can tell, the locals living in those cities were great as well!
What struck me as especially impressive was the 9/11 memorial and museum at the WTC site in NYC. It was a very solemn, sincere, and respectful display to honor the people who perished, and those who tried to make the best of a horrible situation by participating into the rescue effort – even sacrificing their own lives in the process – and, finally, those who were left to cope with the aftermath. The artifacts on display made the extent of it all more real to someone who has only followed the original events remotely on TV and in the reports published on newspapers. A truly horrible, horrible, string of events – but also a great display of unity among Americans. I visited the site of the FDNY Ten House Memorial Wall as well, which was no less impressive.

FAQ

Why is my AC unit freezing?

The most common reason for an AC unit freezing is inadequate airflow. Without warm air moving across the evaporator coils, the coil’s temperature will drop and cause them to freeze. Poor airflow also allows the humidity in the air to collect on the coils, which increases their likelihood of freezing.

What should I do if my AC freezes up?

To avoid further damage, the first thing to do when your AC freezes up is to turn the air conditioner off. From the thermostat panel, switch the AC from “cooling” or “auto” to fan mode. Setting your AC in fan mode will help the system receive warm air to help the frozen AC line or coil defrost.

What temperature should my air conditioner be set to?

Give us a call and let us do it right the first time! Most people have a specific preference for the temperature in their home. While some homeowners are perfectly comfortable keeping the thermostat set to 77 or 78 degrees Fahrenheit, others believe that their air conditioner should keep their home feeling like an icebox.

Should you lower the temperature of your AC system?

Lowering the temperature too much can ultimately reduce the lifespan of your AC system, and it raises your monthly bills. But this is tough to remember when you come home to a living space that feels like an oven.