A/C Freon ... What Are the guidelines for checking?

Question

Please help! I live in a BIG complex of townhomes. I have central air. These units are almost 12 years old. I have lived here for 8 years. I know my A/C has NEVER been serviced.

(All maintenance does here is change the furnace filters.)

I have asked for service, because my A/C is running hard, and late into the night to reach "70", after a long 99 degree day. (Semi Arid, CO)

The office sent a man up, to "foo foo" me off, and said it's working fine. It's not. It was COOL in my unit from the night air!!!!! He said it was "cool to the touch". Pullllleeeezzzze.

He also admitted a PRO needs to service it.

It's hard to "fight city hall" here, but I am the one paying the electric bill!

Please advise. IS there a normal time to CHECK these A/C units? Yes, it WILL cool, when it's cool OUTSIDE!

THANKS !!!

Answer 1

You need to get a reputable AC manufacturer to email you their specifications. They suggest cleaning ,or servicing, a central unit once or twice a year. Even call a local AC company to verify it. Also, if it breaks, isn't it their responsibility to replace it? Wouldn't they rather service it than pay a lot of money for replacing?

The coils will get gunky, full of dirt, and cause the unit to work even harder to meet the temperature on your thermostat. Also, on a 99 degree day, a unit will probably only make it down to 75. This is if you live in a humid area.

Cool to the touch means what? Our body is regulated at 98 deg, right? So 70 degree air could be "cool to the touch".  He should check it with a thermostat. If the air isn't blowing 50-60 degrees, then the unit isn't cooling properly.

Answer 2

ma'am, Industry standards is 15-20 degrees difference from outside temp @ optimal conditions. Cooking, boiling water and running the dishwasher can affect how the home feels. Considering its a 12 yr old unit, 13-15 degrees difference is the best you can hope for. However, you can clean the coil on the outside a/c unit. What the a/c unit does is transfer heat from inside the home to the outside of the home. If coil is dirty, it will inhibit heat transfer. And since it's an older unit, this will help the unit work as efficiently as possible. The "freon" if it's low, you will see the ice form on the lines to the coils outside or @ the furnace. A dirty filter will also cause this if it is blocked. You can check the a/c if the outside temp is over 70 degrees. Unfortunately, this is the only thing a homeowner can  check or maintain on the a/c unit. The tech who they sent over should have taken the temperature of the air coming out of the vents this would've told him right away if the compressor outside was working. If you put your hand over the outside unit, the warmer the air feels, the better the unit is working to remove the heat from your home. please e-mail me with any questions. I hope this helped you.