Home air conditioner question.

Question

We recently moved into a house on a military base. From the beginning we have had problems with the air conditioning. During the afternoon and evening no matter what we set the thermostat on it won't go below 80's in here. We have had the a/c looked at four times and they say that nothing is wrong with it, it is just the heat outside. I have lived in san antonio for 25 years of my life and have never had a home that won't cool. We have the thermostat on 45 right now and it is still 79 degrees in my house. They are sending a supervisor over tomorrow and I am tired of being told there is nothing wrong with it. What could possibly be the problem? I have to pay the electric bills and don't think it is right that it costs me extra money because they are not fixing it.

Answer 1

Sounds like you need more insulation.

Answer 2

Top Off the Insulation in the Attic

Answer 3

1. Could the a/c be too small? Is it a window unit?

2. Maybe the house is not insulated?

You may want to go to Walmart, or Lowes and get a small window unit to help get you through until you move. There are on sale for about $70-80.

At least put one in your bedroom so you can sleep at night.

Answer 4

That's strange, you had your a/c looked at 4 times and not one technician came up with a reasonable explaination as to why the system could not pull the indoor temp down below 80 degrees? Humm, something doesn't make sense. Either each one of these techs is seriously incompitent or the system is grossly undersized and running "normal" for the tonnage that it is. Can you post their pressure and temperature readings from the invoice they left you and try to precisely recall what the outdoor temperture was each time they came out? Also provide the total square feet of LIVING SPACE your home has and include the model number of the outdoor unit. The model number will indicate what tonnage you have. first there will be a series of letters then followed by anyone of these numbers 024=2tons, 030=2.5tons,036=3tons,042=3.5tons,048=4t... and 060=5tons.

waiting on you

Answer 5

The people that looked at the A/C may be right.

The A/C may be doing all it can. They move heat, from inside to the outside.

They have BTU ratings that say they will move that amount of BTU's in one hour.

If your home is gaining that amount of heat or better through the structure it will not cool down.

The hotter it is outside the more heat will be gained into the home.

Higher humidities will also effect how well it will cool.

Just make sure your doing everything to keep the heat and humidity out.

Limiting moisture producing activities like cooking and showering, use exhaust fans.

Keeping the direct sunlight out by using drapes and making sure doors and windows are not left open.

Turning down the thermostat doesn't make the unit run harder, just runs until it get's to the temperature you set it at.

Answer 6

Welcome to the delights of military housing.  

Before the supervisor gets there, buy a thermometer that reads in tenths of a degree.  I got mine at a pet store.  Then take the temperature of the air as it exits the unit.  The temperature of the air coming out of all my units is in the mid 30s.  

Have you checked the filter and interior of the unit for dust?  That is the only thing that messes ours up.  Setting it at too cold a temperature will cause the exterior of the unit to freeze up and it will not cool until it melts.  Is there any difference in the temperature if you set it closer to the 70s?

Please be careful not to annoy the supervisor.