Air Conditioning Question (apartment, house, closing)

[Bmarie327]

I have my programmable thermostat set at 73 degrees but during the day my house it doesn't seem to want to get below 77 with the summer heat. At night, it goes to 73. I just had a new system put in about 2 years ago and seems to spit out cool air and is the same size as the one before it.
But, the downstairs is 77 and the upstairs (it is just one room upstairs) is darn hot!? Is this normal?

[tdhg566]

A properly sized and installed a/c unit should be able to cool a house down to 73. Have you had someone check the system? You say it was installed 2 years ago. ?how did it perform last year? If it cooled properly last year, but not this year, that could indicate something has changed with the system.

[City Love]

Unfortunately it isn't normal, but not uncommon. Your thermostat is probably downstairs, so it has no way of knowing how cool it is upstairs. Your upstairs gets hotter because it's closer to the roof and gets more heat from that and the attic.

You could try adding insulation to that room or adding another vent to bring in more air.

[texas7]

Everyone I know with one unit for a 2-story - myself included (unless they have two a/c units one for up and one for down or zoned air conditioning) has it too hot upstairs and cool and comfortable downstairs in the summer - and in the winter freezing downstairs and baking upstairs if you want the downstairs comfortable. I set mine for 78-80 when not home and 75 at night (energy prices........) We have to adjust the vents for summer and winter - close them up (not all the way) some downstairs and wide open upstairs in summer and in winter we do the reverse - wide open downstairs and closed up some upstairs.

[kittyhawk]

Originally Posted by Bmarie327

I have my programmable thermostat set at 73 degrees but during the day my house it doesn't seem to want to get below 77 with the summer heat. At night, it goes to 73. I just had a new system put in about 2 years ago and seems to spit out cool air and is the same size as the one before it.
But, the downstairs is 77 and the upstairs (it is just one room upstairs) is darn hot!? Is this normal?

It's not normal.

A few things to check before calling A/C repair. Have you changed your filters? If not, you may not be getting enough airflow. Dumb question, but make sure your vents are all open. I've heard of people saying their A/C doesn't work and it turned out that their vents were closed.

Is your outdoor unit free and clear of weeds around it. You may try taking a water hose and hosing down the coil part of the outdoor unit. They can get pretty dirty although at 2 years old, I can't imagine it being that dirty. Also, there's a little pipe connected to the outdoor unit. It should be cold and dripping wet. If it's not, you are most likely running low on refrigerant (ie. leaking somewhere in the attic).

At 2 years old, everything should still be under warranty. Don't let the A/C people just refill your refrigerant. Make them replace your faulty unit completley. If they put in a low bid coil in your attic, two years is how long some of them will last.

[Texas User]

I keep it at 80 and my apartment is cool.

[RCH99]

Originally Posted by Texas User

I keep it at 80 and my apartment is cool.

....and then you go outside where it's "pass" 80, and it's unbearable. You're goofy, my friend.

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by RCH99

....and then you go outside where it's "pass" 80, and it's unbearable. You're goofy, my friend.

When I go outside, its humid and very hot. Heat Index was 105 today.

[dmarie123]

I don't know about your thermostat, but I've found closing the downstairs vents in the summer will force the cool air upstairs, and the heat from downstairs will rise, while the cool air falls. This will help equalize the temps. In the winter, do the opposite. It really helps!

[Jim Carry]

Help me about this... Is it more economical to operate the fan on my air-conditioning unit continuously or just turn on ceiling fans in the rooms in use?