Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am debating a new central air unit (or move the current unit to a 2nd zone for upstairs and a new central air conditioner for the main floor) as I think it takes too long to cool the main floor and the unit doesn't seem to keep up on very hot days. The house is 12 years old and located in northern NJ. It is a center hall colonial with 9' ceilings and a 24' foyer with ~3,000 sq. ft. and ~1,500 sq. ft. in a finished basement. It is using the original York H2RA060S06D (5 Ton) unit with 2 White Rodgers Builder's Thermostat (White-Rodgers: Digital Thermostat, 850) on main floor and master bedroom. I am not sure if it is 1 zone or 2 zones as I need to always keep the main floor unit ON for the 2nd floor to be cooled. For example, I turn the main floor thermostat to AUTO/COOL and 80F so I am able to use the thermostat on the 2nd floor. I have debated the Nest thermostat but that is another story. A few weeks ago, we had a few days in the MID 90F and I couldn't get the house below 75F no matter how long I kept it on for. I even closed the office (1st floor) and closed the doors on the 4BRs and 2BAs on the 2nd floor. I also closed all of the vents except on the 1st floor to ensure as much cool air was being pumped into the 1st floor but it didn't help much. The air that comes out feels cold but it doesn't seem to have much pressure. It could just be me. I went out side and removed some dirt/leaves in the central air unit and even used my hose to clean all debris off the outside as it was dirty. I even replaced the air filter to a less restrictive (cheaper) filter. Last night, I noticed the home humidifier had water in the tray but the unit wasn't turned on. I completely drained it and hope that might help. Thoughts?
I am debating a new central air unit...as I think it takes too long to cool the main floor
and the unit doesn't seem to keep up on very hot days. Thoughts?
Has it *ever* done well on very hot days?
How is it on not quite so hot days?
All the more reason to have a tech come and do a check up.
Understood. I would like to be a bit more pro-active and see if I can do some initial troubleshooting myself as contracts are expensive and very unreliable around here. A lot of fraud here especially with the recent hurricanes.
i'm in a same situation as you. do you have insurance for your unit? I gave a call to the insurance company were I have my central air insured and they'll take a look at it.
i'm in a same situation as you. do you have insurance for your unit? I gave a call to the insurance company were I have my central air insured and they'll take a look at it.
I never heard of insurance for a central air unit. Either way, they are a couple of grand. Is it worth it if you have a $1,000 deductible?
If the system was properly designed when installed, closing doors and vents is actually a bad thing to do. Ducts can only carry so much air so closing off vents may just build backpressure in the system and make things worse and unless rooms have individual return vents, closing doors will reduce airflow being returned to the air handler.
Also, a properly designed system is designed for a certain temperature. I'm not sure what the design temperature would be in your area but I would guess low-mid 90's. Here in Houston it is 98. That means when it is 98 degrees outside the AC will keep the indoor temp around 75 by running continuously. Most of the time systems are a little oversized so you would be able to get a little cooler than that. If it hits the mid-100's here which thankfully doesn't happen too often, my A/C will only cool to 76 and will run constantly...and that is perfectly normal. It is actually very inefficient to have a large A/C that would get your house down to say 70, when it is 100 out...unless it is 100 every day.
Since you don't know the history of the system I would definitely have it checked out. The indoor coils could be dirty causing reduced air flow.
One check you can do is to check the temp of the air coming out of a vent nearest where the air handler is. It should be 15-20 degrees colder than room temp after it has been running for at least 10-15 minutes.
Last edited by jasonamd; 06-28-2013 at 02:04 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
