My wife and I purchased a HVAC system in May of last year, but I'm a little disappointed in it. While I realize it's almost impossible to measure, and we really haven't had any changes in our power usage, but there hasn't been any noticeable difference in the amount of energy we use. We actually had it serviced last month, and everything checked out okay. However, since our recent heat wave, the AC can't keep up. I set the temperature to stay at 75 degrees 24 hours a day. The air conditioning runs 24/7 and can't seem to hit 75 degrees unless the temperature outside goes down. The temperature stays at about 75 degrees in the house until about 11 a.m. in the morning and then starts rising. It hits a maximum of about 82 degrees at around 4 p.m. and has gotten down to about 78 degrees at 10 p.m. at night. It usually takes until about 2 or 3 a.m. in the morning to hit 75. This doesn't seem right to me but everything keeps checking out. As a matter of fact, the day the guys installed the AC unit it was 100 (or at least very similar), and when they clicked it on in the hottest part of the afternoon, it was able to get our house down to about 72 by the evening. Sweet!!!!! Not any more though. Is it possible I have a lemon? The AC runs for about 20 hours a day, and the cooling is dependent on the temperature outside. I realize it's extremely hot right now, but it doesn't quite seem right that, when I set the temp to 75 in the morning, the unit can't maintain the temperature. The air conditioning clicks on, but the temperature keeps rising. There's cold air coming out, and it would easily be 100 in our home if it wasn't blowing any cool air. Does this sound right? Is it possible I have a lemon? Is there anything you could recommend? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Scott, Papillion, NE
If the temperature outside is 95 degrees then you should be able to set the thermostat and maintain 75 degrees inside your home. When the temps start to climb along with the heat index, so will the indoor temperature of your home. The good rule of thumb would be to look at the actual temperature outside and figure 18 to 20 degrees difference between the inside. However, with each home being so different in many ways, this could be higher, especially when the heat index gets up into the 105 to 115 degree range. As a first step, consider the air filter and make sure it is clean and changed regularly. If you feel that the air conditioning should be doing better than it is, don’t wait. If there is a problem, the longer you wait to get it checked out, what is possibly only one problem can lead to additional issues. When the temps outside get to the high 90’s and the heat index gets close to or in the teens, the questions start to come. If you size a system for your home to cycle off and on in these extreme temperatures, you can imagine how oversized the system would be. This could cause excessive moisture/humidity in your home when the temperatures are not as high. The system would short cycle causing the home to cool quickly and be unable to remove the humidity because of the short run time. Thus, even though it would be 75 degrees you would feel sticky. You could have an actual heat gain load done on your home to verify the proper size system for your home or contact your installing dealer and verify the load with them. As far as getting a lemon, there is only a lemon law associated with the automotive industry. If an air conditioning system has a problem, then the manufacturer has parts warranties to cover the parts. I suggest you contact a qualified professional HVAC contractor, such as the ARS/Rescue Rooter branch in Omaha, NE at (402) 331-1233, to assist you in assessing whether or not your air conditioning system is sized properly and running correctly.