Why won't my air conditioner cool the room?

Question

I recently bought a 10,000BTU Everstart portable A/C. It is getting warm in L.A. so I needed it. However, it doesn't seem to cool the room any. It does blow out powerful, cold air, and the vent is properly installed, all the doors and windows are closed and shut. The apartment I live in is an upstairs unit, about 30 years old, with aluminum slider windows. I don't believe that there is any insulation (No, none will be put). The room to be cooled includes the kitchen and living room, both separated halfway by a wall. The room is 19.5x18.5 ft. I had even left it on when I went out for a few hours. When I returned, the house was as hot as before.

Answer 1

Your unit sounds like the right size, however, you don't say how high the ceilings are.  If you've got single-paned aluminum windows then it's almost like not having windows at all, they have practically no insulating value.  If your unit is on the top floor then you're also dealing with the heat from the roof which can be really, really hard to handle.  Since the rooms are separated by the hall you might want to consider putting a unit in each section.  If the unit is blowing cold air then it simply isn't big enough to handle the whole area.  However, if it's hot with the unit running, imagine how hot it would be without it running.

Answer 2

Read the instructions again to make sure it is properly set.

Make sure is on High, set the temperature to 60, and that the air is on, not just the fan. I bought an air conditioner today at Lowe's. The entire house is made of cinder blocks, no insulation and the sun punishes the outside wall. It took 5 hours for the room to feel real cold. It was a 102 in my bedroom when I turned it on, now is a chilling 70 degrees brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Good luck, I know how you feel.

Answer 3

first for ten bucks go to home depot and invest in a thermometer the unit should be putting out forty to forty=five degrees at a low fan speed (if you check it on a high fan speed it has dis pence the cold air the room already ,Also that is a large area for an inside unit You should go window unit because they discharge the hot air outside