Can your A/C keep up with this heat?

[Anonymous]

1950 house, 32 year old a/c unit. It is 68 degrees downstairs, 70 upstairs. We have blackout shades in all upstairs rooms and keep them down nearly 24/7 in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like you need your unit serviced. Our 20+ yo system has no issues.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The outside temperature isn’t so much a problem, but the sun is. My 2 story house doesn’t have any shade on it. Regardless of the temperature (nearly), my AC runs continuously from 7-10am and 4-7pm if there’s full sun.

Do you have good blinds and close them every day? Not just when the sun is shining on those rooms but all the blinds. This is to stop the radiant heat from coming in off the glass on super hot days. It makes a HUGE difference in energy use and costs.

I don’t know if I’d call them particularly good, but I do keep them closed nearly all of the time during the summer. The side of the house facing the sun is always a few degrees warmer than the other side.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The outside temperature isn’t so much a problem, but the sun is. My 2 story house doesn’t have any shade on it. Regardless of the temperature (nearly), my AC runs continuously from 7-10am and 4-7pm if there’s full sun.

A properly sized AC should run continuously on the "design day." It's actually better for them to run continuously, starting is what puts the most stress on the motor and compressor. The sizing should account for solar gains.

“Design day” is most of June/July/August. I wish I didn’t need to keep my AC set to 71 all day because otherwise it can’t catch up in the late afternoon/early evening.

I have a 3400-square-foot home on a 5 ton unit. It’s probably a little undersized, but they built the house with only one unit.

[Anonymous]

1960s house, about 2200 square feet plus finished basement. AC from 2009. No issues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The outside temperature isn’t so much a problem, but the sun is. My 2 story house doesn’t have any shade on it. Regardless of the temperature (nearly), my AC runs continuously from 7-10am and 4-7pm if there’s full sun.

A properly sized AC should run continuously on the "design day." It's actually better for them to run continuously, starting is what puts the most stress on the motor and compressor. The sizing should account for solar gains.

“Design day” is most of June/July/August. I wish I didn’t need to keep my AC set to 71 all day because otherwise it can’t catch up in the late afternoon/early evening.

I have a 3400-square-foot home on a 5 ton unit. It’s probably a little undersized, but they built the house with only one unit.

Average daily high for Washington DC is 83 for June, 87 for July and 84 for August. Design day for for DC is 92.

[Anonymous]

100 year old house. We keep temp set at 72. No problem cooling. We have lots of mature shade trees, though. We also had an energy audit and upgraded windows, insulation, etc. We also keep shades drawn on really hot days in the few windows that get a lot of sun.

[Anonymous]

For all you keeping your homes at 72. What about climate change?!? We should be considering keeping our ACs at 80 or above. They should only be used to prevent heat related death. Jeez, you all suck and are very selfish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all you keeping your homes at 72. What about climate change?!? We should be considering keeping our ACs at 80 or above. They should only be used to prevent heat related death. Jeez, you all suck and are very selfish.

Love you, too!

[Anonymous]

We have a tall, 3-story house, but the top floor is the coolest since we have the dampers turned to the summer setting, and thus most of the cool air gets pushed to the top. We’ll change the dampers to the winter setting in late October so we won’t be roasting in the heat upstairs.

[Anonymous]

1950s cape cod with popped out attic and two HVAC units. Yes, but during the day we keep it between 76 and 79. We are not trying to cool it below that. I do turn it to 71 at night and I guess it gets that cool? Don’t know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all you keeping your homes at 72. What about climate change?!? We should be considering keeping our ACs at 80 or above. They should only be used to prevent heat related death. Jeez, you all suck and are very selfish.

+1. Typical American stuff - all talk no actions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all you keeping your homes at 72. What about climate change?!? We should be considering keeping our ACs at 80 or above. They should only be used to prevent heat related death. Jeez, you all suck and are very selfish.

Start another thread. Seriously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all you keeping your homes at 72. What about climate change?!? We should be considering keeping our ACs at 80 or above. They should only be used to prevent heat related death. Jeez, you all suck and are very selfish.

We have excellent insulation, EV cars, huge solar panels. We make enough electricity to sell it to Pepco. The 72 stays, punk!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For all you keeping your homes at 72. What about climate change?!? We should be considering keeping our ACs at 80 or above. They should only be used to prevent heat related death. Jeez, you all suck and are very selfish.

We have excellent insulation, EV cars, huge solar panels. We make enough electricity to sell it to Pepco. The 72 stays, punk!

narrow minded