To leave my aircon unit on all day while I'm at work on Thursday?

[thisnamechanger]

Has anyone ever left a domestic air conditioning unit on all day when they aren't home?

I'm trying to weight up the paranoia between burning house down and potentially losing elderly heat-sensitive pets to heatstroke on Thursday 😣 it's supposed to be 37 and my flat is above a shop which means it's even hotter than most flats at the best of times.

I do sometimes put it on the timer to come on for two hours at midday when it's warm but leaving in on unattended for 11 hours seems a big leap. Don't know what to do 😖 What do we think; is it a 'you shouldn't really but people get away with it' or 'thats shit's seriously dangerous'

What pets are you referring to, OP?

This will help responses.

I have done it plenty of times, and I do it on holiday too. Coming back home to a cool house is a fine pleasure!

Is it really going to be that hot in this country?? Its about 23 degrees at present in my office. Cripes. Sorry I know nothing about air conditioning units but could you leave damp cloths for the pets to lie on etc. Also those freezer blocks might be useful.

tbh what ive learnt of some of the timers recently id just turn it on myself.i was listening to new program where some of those doggy climers on clicking sparked up and too when they turned the item on it sparked a fuse.

I wouldn't. They will be OK. Animals are more intelligent than we give them credit for, and will find a cool spot (well not so hot!) somewhere.

I would not leave your aircon on all day no...

bugger sorry ive ont exactly helped your worries there.
my gran used to put hot water bottles in the freezer put the covers on then leave them out for her cats and dogs to lie near.

If we had it, I would in my house... there are no cool spots for my pets to find!

If its too hot for you, with your superior ability to cool yourself, then it is too hot for pets who have a far less efficient cooling system.

So air con on all day.

Our aircon is on all day but it isn't a stand alone unit.
Do the instructions say not too?
I think I would.

I live in Australia so AC is needed in summer. It is more economical to keep AC on all day than to cool the house from scratch twice. I set it at 24/25 degrees when i go out, then turn it down, if necessary, when I return.

Buy pet cooling mats that they can lie on.

Leave all curtains closed as well, that helps make sur they have wet towels to lie on, assuming it cat/dog and put a/c on timer.
We have a normal fan, wet towel in front dog on there quite comfortably!

I've left my aircon on all day for my chinchillas before when I'm out, just made sure to clear out filters before.

Aircon is do expensive to run though. Can you not just say what kind of pet it is? People might have some better solutions for you.

Another one asking what kind of animals? Cats, for example, tend to cope pretty well in the heat - mine do anyway (live in Middle East).

Other animals are more sensitive.

Would you turn your fridge or freezer off during the day? No because they work on a thermostat. The air conditioning unit also works on a thermostat. One it has cold the room to temperature the thermostat will cut out and the machine will stop. When the temperature rises again the machine cuts in and starts cooling again. You can set the temperature that you wish the machine to cool down on your remote. I.e set to 18 degrees and the the machine will cool the room to this temperature and then stop. (Husband us air con engineer ) You can defiantly leave it on all day and night if you want

Oops some spelling mistakes there. But I think you get idea.

I lived in Australia, where we get a lot of very hot weather and I would say no, just do a few tweaks.
In the morning, close your curtains, blinds and windows to keep the heat out. Then run the aircon until it's cool enough, and maybe put on a timer for a few hours at midday. Unplug devices that don't need to be on - they often run and generate a little heat. Don't boil the kettle etc if you don't need to - my Mum makes 8 cups of tea a day and then complains the kitchen is warmer and humid! Shade windows from the outside if you can (move plants etc). Leave iced water in the bowls. That should keep the place reasonable.
If you are running aircon a lot, clean the airfilters, it makes a big difference to how much power it uses (and how much it overheats).
You don't need to have it running full bore all day, in most houses.
Those tricks will help, but if you do want to leave your aircon on, you can do. The issue isn't safety but the cost to you and the environment.
Total side note: if you have a garden consider leaving out a bucket or bowl of water out somewhere shady for wild animals, with a stick in it so they can climb out if they fall in. Birds suffer a lot in very hot weather.

Gosh thanks for all the replies and sorry for not coming back - I checked back a few times and saw no replies so I thought it'd dropped off.

They're house bunnies. The shorthair is generally ok but the long hair sufferers terribly.

For those saying just draw blinds, it isn't enough. I live above a corner shop and the heat from their fridges sits on their ceiling which is my floor, meaning it's way hotter than a regular flat (lovely in the winter though!).

Unfortunately they're total idiots...they don't lay on the cool tiles I've provided, they won't go near frozen bottles. If I wet their ears they panic and run around making themselves hotter. All they want to do is lay on top of one another getting hotter and hotter 😭

Anyway I did some reading up and it does seem even portable ACs are designed to be left on all the time so that's what I've been doing, just til the weather breaks. Poor little things.

As someone else suggested I finally twigged that you set it to a sensible temp and it comes on and off topping up the cooling, rather than setting it really low and using like a cold fan.

The pet shop near us does the frozen water bottle thing for small animals, they can sit near it if they're hot

They have a cooling pad but it doesn't do anything because I have to have it under a thick mat to stop them chewing it 🙄 they're ijjits.

Thanks Bluedevil that's what I discovered eventually but it's really good advice. I think we so rarely use aircon in this country I didn't even properly know how you use it!