Americans Keep AC at 71F as Heat Wave Pushes Expert 78F Guidance

Q: Why did a federal energy page detailing controversial summer thermostat guidelines suddenly vanish from the internet without explanation?

No verified public explanation has been given. The most supportable answer is that the U.S. Department of Energy page appears to have been removed, moved, or revised without notice, and the agency has not publicly said why. Archived copies cited by multiple outlets show the DOE’s former “Home Cooling Systems” page advised people to start around 75°F to 78°F during the day, keep the thermostat “as high as comfortable,” and raise it further when away from home. That page later began returning a “Page not found” message. Newsweek and others reported contacting DOE, but no public clarification was provided on whether the page was intentionally deleted, relocated, or folded into updated guidance. The timing drew attention because the same 78°F range had just resurfaced in public discussion during a major heat wave and grid-stress warnings. But there is no confirmed evidence linking the page’s disappearance to that controversy. The available record supports only a correlation in timing, not a proven cause. What is clear is that the missing page was consistent with long-standing efficiency guidance from utilities, ENERGY STAR, and DOE materials that remain elsewhere: keep indoor temperatures comfortable, control humidity, minimize the gap with outdoor temperatures, and use programmable setbacks for savings. In other words, the rationale behind the vanished page does not appear unusual; only its unexplained disappearance is.

3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Aug 30

71F is the average daytime thermostat setting in U.S. homes, far below the 78F level recommended by utilities and cited by energy experts as the money-saving target.
78F is backed by providers including Constellation, National Grid and Carrier, while the Department of Energy says smaller indoor-outdoor temperature gaps help control humidity and cut costs.
10-15F above-average heat is forecast across the Mississippi Valley, mid-Atlantic and Southeast through early September, with Raleigh and St. Louis nearing 100F and several major cities in the 90s.
Regional preferences still run cool: Southerners report 72F, Northeasterners 70F, and a separate survey of more than 2,000 adults found 67F is Americans' preferred sleep temperature.
Consumer Reports found no central-air respondent set summer temperatures above 76F, underscoring how comfort habits diverge from efficiency advice as Labor Day heat builds.