The A/C on a hot day

[Anonymous]

If your indoor temp meets what your thermostat is set to, then it's okay. If your A/C is struggling and only getting partway to the thermostat set temperature, then you probably have too small of unit. Units that are correctly sized for the space they are regulating work as designed and well.

We have a large dual-zone unit with a larger unit for the downstairs public areas and a smaller unit for the upstairs private areas. Our units have no problems keeping the indoor temp to what we set the thermostat.

[Anonymous]

I need a cool bedroom to sleep in, but I don't like the noise of a window unit. Anyone have experience with these "U-shaped" window units that put the compressor outside, and only the fan inside? I've seen different reviews, mostly with issues of reliability. Costco sells a "U" conditioner from an unknown (to me) Chinese manufacturer. GE sells an upside-down "U" (like a lower case "n" but there's a waiting list.

[Anonymous]

You'll probably get more and better responses if you start a new thread with a descriptive subject line.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your A/C work well even on a hot day? I don't know if something is wrong with our A/C because the temparature inside the house is 76, or it is just what you expect on a hot day like this. Our A/C has been working fine except on a super hot day.

You have to make the hiuse cold at night so it will cool easier during the day.

If turn up the thermostat overnight or during the work day, then turn it down when you are home during the day, it will run non stop and not get cold.

Keep it at a colder temp at night, then keep it at the temp you want all day. It will run less and keep the house comfortable

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your A/C work well even on a hot day? I don't know if something is wrong with our A/C because the temparature inside the house is 76, or it is just what you expect on a hot day like this. Our A/C has been working fine except on a super hot day.

You have to make the hiuse cold at night so it will cool easier during the day.

If turn up the thermostat overnight or during the work day, then turn it down when you are home during the day, it will run non stop and not get cold.

Keep it at a colder temp at night, then keep it at the temp you want all day. It will run less and keep the house comfortable

Every house is different and every HVAC is different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your A/C work well even on a hot day? I don't know if something is wrong with our A/C because the temparature inside the house is 76, or it is just what you expect on a hot day like this. Our A/C has been working fine except on a super hot day.

You have to make the hiuse cold at night so it will cool easier during the day.

If turn up the thermostat overnight or during the work day, then turn it down when you are home during the day, it will run non stop and not get cold.

Keep it at a colder temp at night, then keep it at the temp you want all day. It will run less and keep the house comfortable

yup! This works the best. keep blinds all closed during the day.

[Anonymous]

A few thoughts to keep in mind from an HVAC Contractor:

-The ballpark Cooling Design Temp for our area is 75 Degrees inside and 94 Outside.

-High Efficiency Variable Speed Systems are designed to run continuously and ramp up/ down depending on the cooling load. The additional benefit is that the long run times pull a lot more humidity out of the air. We get a lot of feedback when people get these systems installed that's its so much stronger than the old system. and they keep it set at a higher temperature than before. Reality is the house is a lot drier than before making higher temperatures feel more comfortable.

[Anonymous]

Heat pumps sometimes take longer to either raise or lower the temperature than a classic A/C or furnace might take.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heat pumps sometimes take longer to either raise or lower the temperature than a classic A/C or furnace might take.

A "classic AC" is a heat pump.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You don’t want to let it warm up. If you have the temp set on the tstat to fluctuate a lot, it will run forever to cool the house back down on hot days. Better to set it at a consistent temperature +/- 2 degrees rather than +/- 6 degrees

During hot summer days, do not let the indoor temperature rise very much, because keeping it at a comfortable temperature is less work (also less electricity and less $$$) than letting it warm up and then try to cool it significantly.

If you have a programmable thermostat (e.g., with different settings for sleep, wake, morning, and away), then double-check how all of those various settings, including the time of day for each, are configured.

In winter, we let our indoor temperature rise naturally with sunlight through the windows during the day, because we know it will cool naturally after dark. In summer, by contrast, we keep the inside no warmer than 72F, which is our personal comfort level.

Air conditioners work best when they run continuously. This is true of any electric motor, it's the stopping and starting that's hardest on them. So letting the house heat up, and then having the AC run continuously, uses less electricity and is better for the longevity of the equipment.

But the reason you have AC is for comfort, it's the only reason, you can live without it, people did for hundreds of thousands of years. And letting the house heat up isn't good for comfort. Houses have heat capacity, it takes the AC a long time to wring that heat out of the house, and until it does you're uncomfortable.

This post is completely incorrect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ours seems to be running all the time on these 99 degree days and we just bought this new unit. We prefer 73 or 74 degrees.

The AC running continuously in weather like we've had the past few days is a sign that it is appropriately sized. It works best when it's sized so that on the hottest days it runs 100% of the time.

No.

You do not want your AC to run continuously. This is terrible advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your A/C work well even on a hot day? I don't know if something is wrong with our A/C because the temparature inside the house is 76, or it is just what you expect on a hot day like this. Our A/C has been working fine except on a super hot day.

You have to make the hiuse cold at night so it will cool easier during the day.

If turn up the thermostat overnight or during the work day, then turn it down when you are home during the day, it will run non stop and not get cold.

Keep it at a colder temp at night, then keep it at the temp you want all day. It will run less and keep the house comfortable

Every house is different and every HVAC is different.

Nope.

Basic science

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A few thoughts to keep in mind from an HVAC Contractor:

-The ballpark Cooling Design Temp for our area is 75 Degrees inside and 94 Outside.

-High Efficiency Variable Speed Systems are designed to run continuously and ramp up/ down depending on the cooling load. The additional benefit is that the long run times pull a lot more humidity out of the air. We get a lot of feedback when people get these systems installed that's its so much stronger than the old system. and they keep it set at a higher temperature than before. Reality is the house is a lot drier than before making higher temperatures feel more comfortable.

The newer high efficiency ACs don't cool properly.