|
Home > Archive > Home Repair forum > July 2006 > ac woes, again..read other one first
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
ac woes, again..read other one first
|
|
| mike avera 2006-07-30, 8:25 pm |
| sorry..i hit send before i was done...anyhow, it has been pretty hot
lately....but it seems like the ac should be doing a better job than it
is. and that bill was just too high. any ideas?
| |
| Edwin Pawlowski 2006-07-31, 3:25 am |
|
"mike avera" <averama@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:15532-44CD3A18-414@storefull-3257.bay.webtv.net...
> sorry..i hit send before i was done...anyhow, it has been pretty hot
> lately....but it seems like the ac should be doing a better job than it
> is. and that bill was just too high. any ideas?
>
Couple of factors.
What is the outside temperature? With triple digits,getting down to 80 is
about maximum. Most central units are designed to reduce the temperature
about 20 degrees.
What was the bill last year? What was the average temperature. What was
the kW used? More load = more cost.
The air coming out will vary at times. With a window unit, If the
compressor is running, the air will be cooler, but once the thermostat is
satisfied, the fan keeps going blowing air that is the same temperature as
the rest of the room. Some packaged units run the same way. You don't give
any information on the type of AC you have so I can't be more specific.
FWIW, my bill last month was $186. I was expecting over $200.
| |
|
| Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "mike avera" <averama@webtv.net> wrote in message
> news:15532-44CD3A18-414@storefull-3257.bay.webtv.net...
>
>
>
> Couple of factors.
>
> What is the outside temperature? With triple digits,getting down to 80 is
> about maximum. Most central units are designed to reduce the temperature
> about 20 degrees.
I think you're confusing the expected drop across the coil with the
difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. They're two
totally different things.
Most central AC units are sized to allow keeping indoor temperatures
and humidities comfortable over the range of expected outdoor conditions
(or nearly so). If that means the unit must be able to lower the indoor
temperature to 35 degrees less than the outdoor temperature, so be it.
You're not cooling outdoor air to room temperature. You're cooling
air drawn from indoors to 20 or so degrees less than it already is,
and mixing that with the other indoor air. Even if you start with
indoor air at outdoor temperatures, you can incrementally lower it
by more than the drop across the coil.
>
> What was the bill last year? What was the average temperature. What was
> the kW used? More load = more cost.
>
> The air coming out will vary at times. With a window unit, If the
> compressor is running, the air will be cooler, but once the thermostat is
> satisfied, the fan keeps going blowing air that is the same temperature as
> the rest of the room. Some packaged units run the same way. You don't give
> any information on the type of AC you have so I can't be more specific.
>
> FWIW, my bill last month was $186. I was expecting over $200.
>
>
--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.
| |
| Mort Guffman 2006-07-31, 3:25 am |
| My only thought is to hire a qualified a/c guy to come out and
diagnose the problem, then hope your landlord will pay to have it
fixed.
Otherwise, you need to move out, or just live with it.
mort
On Sun, 30 Jul 2006 19:00:40 -0400, averama@webtv.net (mike avera)
wrote:
>sorry..i hit send before i was done...anyhow, it has been pretty hot
>lately....but it seems like the ac should be doing a better job than it
>is. and that bill was just too high. any ideas?
| |
| mike avera 2006-07-31, 9:25 am |
| the outside temp has been 90-92...as far as last years bill, this is my
first summer here so no comparison. and i wouldnt mind paying the big
billsif in fact i was comfortable. instead, its hot and sticky in here
while the unit blows lukewarm air. i called and left message with the
apt. maintenance last night so hopefully i'll hear something today. i
keep it at 78..and the room temp hovers a shade above 80. should i lower
the setting? its just odd..it'll run for 2 hours, shut off for about 10
minutes, then run another 2 hours..just doesnt seem right..
| |
| m Ransley 2006-07-31, 9:25 am |
| Sure lots of ideas, why don`t you educate yourself, start here
www.energystar,gov
| |
| Edwin Pawlowski 2006-07-31, 9:25 am |
|
"CJT" <abujlehc@prodigy.net> wrote in message
>
> I think you're confusing the expected drop across the coil with the
> difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures. They're two
> totally different things.
No, I said what I meant, and I meant what I said.
>
> Most central AC units are sized to allow keeping indoor temperatures
> and humidities comfortable over the range of expected outdoor conditions
> (or nearly so). If that means the unit must be able to lower the indoor
> temperature to 35 degrees less than the outdoor temperature, so be it.
You proved my point. "expected" outdoor conditions. If normal high is 90
degrees, and this year it gets to 105, the original design limits are still
in place. That is a very large difference. This is all based on supposition
since neither of us knows what the desgn was for (aside to be cheap for the
apartment owner)
By oversizing to allow for the two days a year of extreme heat, you lose
some humidity control when the differential is low for 80% of the cooling
season while it may be OK for the other 19,5%
>
> You're not cooling outdoor air to room temperature. You're cooling
> air drawn from indoors to 20 or so degrees less than it already is,
> and mixing that with the other indoor air. Even if you start with
> indoor air at outdoor temperatures, you can incrementally lower it
> by more than the drop across the coil.
True, but when the "expected" outdoor conditions are exceeded by 10 or 15
degrees, there is a lot more heat gain than normal. I'ms ure you've seen
the higher than normal temperatures across the country this summer. Other
conditions may have ch anged also. Adjoining apartmnts may be empty and not
cooled adding more heat gain, the huge shade trees on the sidewalk may have
been taken down last winter.
| |
|
| mike avera wrote:
> the outside temp has been 90-92...as far as last years bill, this is my
> first summer here so no comparison. and i wouldnt mind paying the big
> billsif in fact i was comfortable. instead, its hot and sticky in here
> while the unit blows lukewarm air. i called and left message with the
> apt. maintenance last night so hopefully i'll hear something today. i
> keep it at 78..and the room temp hovers a shade above 80. should i lower
> the setting? its just odd..it'll run for 2 hours, shut off for about 10
> minutes, then run another 2 hours..just doesnt seem right..
>
Have you (or perhaps your landlord) signed up for a load shedding
program with your utility?
--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.
| |
|
| Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
> "CJT" <abujlehc@prodigy.net> wrote in message
>
>
>
> No, I said what I meant, and I meant what I said.
>
>
>
>
> You proved my point. "expected" outdoor conditions.
There are parts of the world where 115 is "expected," and they
still have comfort indoors. A 20 degree drop wouldn't allow that.
I was trying to be gentle, thinking you had probably merely spoken
imprecisely, but now I think you're just off base.
If normal high is 90
> degrees, and this year it gets to 105, the original design limits are still
> in place. That is a very large difference. This is all based on supposition
> since neither of us knows what the desgn was for (aside to be cheap for the
> apartment owner)
>
> By oversizing to allow for the two days a year of extreme heat, you lose
> some humidity control when the differential is low for 80% of the cooling
> season while it may be OK for the other 19,5%
>
>
>
>
> True, but when the "expected" outdoor conditions are exceeded by 10 or 15
> degrees, there is a lot more heat gain than normal. I'ms ure you've seen
> the higher than normal temperatures across the country this summer. Other
> conditions may have ch anged also. Adjoining apartmnts may be empty and not
> cooled adding more heat gain, the huge shade trees on the sidewalk may have
> been taken down last winter.
>
>
>
>
Global warming is real. Get used to it.
--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form che...@prodigy.net.
|
|
|
|
|