How well does your A/C work in San Antonio heat? (rentals, houses)

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

Originally Posted by Dwangle

Ok. I dumped my cental AC for window units. I turn them all off except the bedroom one at night. It is a lot cheaper and I can do everything myself. I have a portable unit that I can move around when trouble arises. This has evolved over the years into a system that works. I just replaced the bedroom AC after 7 years . I got an 8000 Btu unit for 209.00. I could have gotten a 10,000 btu for 279.00 but I thought it might be too heavy for me to lift into the window. I had an idea but I might be forgetting something ( Math! Ugh!). I see 5000 btu units for under 100 bucks. 10000 btu's for under 200.00 and light enough for me to handle! What a concept! I gotta be forgetting something!

i believe OP is in an apt complex and they generally frown upon putting things like window units in your windows UNLESS your ac is getting fixed. i speak from personal experience and make it a point to always have an 8k btu unit in the closet/storage, just in case...

[TexasRedneck]

Actually, there are units you can set on the floor that duct through a window opening with no permanent changes/modifications to any part of the structure. I know Friedrich makes one, and I'm sure there's others.

[L210]

Yeah, I'm renting in a townhome complex. It's not that the owner or management is unwilling to fix it; they just keep calling the same, incompetent A/C company they contract with. Someone is coming out next week to look at the leak in the outside unit. I've gone through a couple of summers without A/C because my family was trying to save money, so I'm not dying here. I just don't want to pay $200+ this summer for an A/C that doesn't work well. I pay my rent, so I should have a working A/C.

[lessQQmorePEWPEW]

Originally Posted by L210

I pay my rent, so I should have a working A/C.

you would think but in texas, they are not required to have a working AC in your unit.

suffereing through a 200$ bill myself this month. cant wait til next month when i go back to central AC.

[dba07]

Originally Posted by lessQQmorePEWPEW

you would think but in texas, they are not required to have a working AC in your unit.

suffereing through a 200$ bill myself this month. cant wait til next month when i go back to central AC.

Wait, I'm pretty sure if the temps reachj a certain level, by law they must provide you with ac. Whats with SA and lousy air conditioners/repairmen???

[L210]

Since there was an air conditioner in my place when I moved in, the landlord is required by law to maintain/repair it.

[TexasRedneck]

Yeppirs - all equipment included in the property is required to be maintained. If it didn't have a/c, they aren't required to provide it - but if it's there, they gotta keep it up.

OP - have they inspected the ducts? It may well be that they used that cheap plastic ductwork when they built the place - and by now, it's likely full of holes. It may test out well at the air handler, but if it's leakin'.....

[Rasero]

My house is 6 years old, two-stories, 1721 square feet, had radiant barrier installed when it was constructed. Usually keep it between 78-80 in the day and 78 at night. Usually pay between $100-$130/month. Not too bad considering that when I lived in a small apartment in Austin with a window unit I was paying over $200/month.

Tried cranking my A/C down to 76 the other day. Brrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!! Had to put it back up to 78. I guess my body's adapted to this hot hot weather and anything under 78 makes me shiver.

[L210]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

Yeppirs - all equipment included in the property is required to be maintained. If it didn't have a/c, they aren't required to provide it - but if it's there, they gotta keep it up.

OP - have they inspected the ducts? It may well be that they used that cheap plastic ductwork when they built the place - and by now, it's likely full of holes. It may test out well at the air handler, but if it's leakin'.....

All I know is that he checked the temperature at which the air was blowing out of the vents and he measured the pressure in my coil.

[Paka]

Our home is almost 4 yrs old, we keep it at 70 day and night and the dehumidifer going full time...our sq ft is 1880 and our electric bill (just paid) was $104. Guess I have no complaints looking at other posts here...
owning our own home, I did have the A/C guy put something on the unit 2 yrs ago when he came out to do the regular maintenance/cleaning...don't remember what it was called, but it helped the unit pull less "amps" when it kicked in vs spiking...cost about $325 from what I remember but think it money well spent since it seems to be running like a champ (knocked on wood!)

Have used those little "portable" a/c units that "vent" thru a bedroom window in Japan...they REALLY work. We use to pile all the kids into our bedroom to sleep during very hot, humid nights without A/C...just have to remember they are on the floor around your feet when you go to get up in the am...LOL