Should power flicker when HVAC kicks on?

I realize that I am not an expert at anything having to do with home ownership.

I’ve never owned a house of my own, and I don’t know if I ever will.

As far as I can tell, renting is going to be my future. That being said, I have some questions about the property that I am currently house-sitting for. I was happy to take on this extra source of income a few weeks ago when one of my neighbors asked if I would mind staying at their home. They had to go out of town and they wanted to make sure that their plants and animals were doing okay. I was happy to stay there, to reduce my own energy bills at home, and earn some extra cash. However, I’m not sure that their heating and cooling system is exactly what I expected. When I arrived here, I was excited to abuse their central cooling system and have amazing indoor air quality for once. At my place, I rely on a cheap AC window unit that barely manages to keep my room cold. At the same time, my energy bills are always much higher than you could anticipate. That being said, I assumed that their indoor air temperature control system would be far superior to my own. Now, I’m not sure. Since I’ve been here, I’ve noticed that the central cooling system struggles to maintain a moderate indoor air quality. What’s more concerning, as far as I can tell, is that the lights flicker every time the air conditioning system starts. I’m not sure how their energy powers the lights and the AC unit, but it seems like this cooling system is drying a lot of electricity every time it starts up. Maybe I won’t be abusing this AC system, afterall. I’d hate to wind up in the dark.
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