I may have to get the HVAC techs out again. The air-conditioning isn't keeping up. At least it's controlling humidity okay so far. And it's not freezing up, which is a big improvement. If I leave it at, say, 75 , what happens is it runs all of the time while the indoor temperature slowly creeps up, reaching as high as 78 when it's 95 outside.
With a new coil, a clean filter and the vents and return unobstructed, the only handle left is velocity. That's got an upper limit; the air's got to be in contact with the coil long enough to cool down, and, even worse, if it's going too fast, it will blow condensed water off the coil and right back into the air. Some systems have range for adjustment but many don't; I know my system has at least a two-speed blower because the heat has a high-speed, higher-heat function that occasionally kicks in during the coldest weather. But does the cooling mode have access to it? I don't know.
It's been a long time since I cleaned the blower fan, so I'll try that first. Even a little loss in airflow can make a big difference. This is really a First World Problem; it's not as if I was particularly uncomfortable, even when the heat and humidity outdoors is wretched. I'm just not as comfortable as I'd like to be.
One hack tried when I was in an apartment was a box fan over the
ReplyDeletevents to pull more air.
Then the maintenance showed up to fix it the blower was basically
clogged.
Take care and stay cool.
Eck!
Two things prompted by my experience living in a Florida townhouse:
ReplyDeleteAre any parts of the house warmer/cooler than any other parts? And if so which part is the thermostat in? And does it get direct or indirect sunlight? Any if that might mess up when the system clicks into/out of action.
(The upper floor of my house is usually about 5 degrees warmer than the bottom floor because of how the sunlight hits it. I wouldn't expect that in your house but even a degree or two can make a difference.)
2)Any signs the insulation is not insulating as well as it used to?
Jeffrey Smith
Yeah, my AC died yesterday afternoon. Went from cold to lukewarm in a couple of hours. The techs are coming this afternoon and I pray it is a relatively inexpensive fix.
ReplyDeleteWell, my AC turned out to have a fried capacitor. $225 and cold air again! I hope you were as fortunate!
ReplyDelete