I live alone, so I’m used to being the only person benefiting from the air conditioner in my home. It’s a luxury! There’s no one to quibble with about the thermostat or the electric bill, and I can keep the temperature at 76 throughout the day without sweating. But, I recently started doing a weekly movie night with my group of friends, and I figured out very quickly that more people means more A/C! After everyone sat down to watch the movie, it became uncomfortably warm in the living room. I’m only used to having one person in the house (me) but when I suddenly hosted a party of five, keeping the thermostat at 76 just wasn’t cutting it. I cranked the thermostat down to 73 (without having to get up, because my smart thermostat allows me to adjust the temperature with an app on my phone), but it took a while for the room to cool down. The next day, I called an HVAC technician and made an appointment before the next movie night. The HVAC specialist took a look at my system, changed my air filter (which was disgustingly dusty), and did some general maintenance. I asked him for advice for the next movie night, and he made a great suggestion. He told me to turn down the thermostat to the desired temperature about half an hour before the guests arrived, so that the house would be comfortable for them the moment they arrived. The system wouldn’t have to work as hard to keep up if it started cooling before there were more people in the house. The tip worked, and movie nights have gone off without a hitch (or a hint of sweat) since!