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We have those same units here in Jamaica… Are you sure that unit is the correct size for your room? We have no problem getting down to 68° using those units. And it’s hot and humid here as well.
Even in the summer when it’s 100 to 106°, we have no issue getting the AC down to 68. These aren’t your typical HVAC units… They’re much more efficient, and much better at keeping a place cool. You might want to have your unit serviced.
Exactly.
The units are designed to see temperatures as high as 149 degrees (65 c) these use tropical compressors
That is a selling point on these LG UNITS .the company I do training for is an LG DISTRIBUTOR .
Which goes back to why you can not go by just seeing a 20 degree difference to evaluate things .
I don’t know what it means when the op says we had the units checked as we don’t know how they were checked or even the competence of those checking them ,but my guess is they may be under charged assuming they were sized properly ….
We don’t know if they were sized properly and ever capable of pulling lower
Last edited by mathjak107; 04-22-2022 at 06:53 AM..
20 degrees is what the HVAC guys (at least the ones that I know) use as a standard for testing the system.
When is the last time you had your system checked out? Might be time.
I think my bride would have died if all we could get was 20 degrees for a couple weeks in a row of 100 degree days in south Texas.
I think my bride would have died if all we could get was 20 degrees for a couple weeks in a row of 100 degree days in south Texas.
Like all professions , you have good and not so good people doing it ….most people can’t tell good procedures from poor ones .
Frankly any hvac tech that uses a 20 degree difference as some reference is not one of the good ones …
Do you think if you live in Arizona a 120 degree day should be 100 in the house ? .
While I may have some concern about what temperature the house is seeing that is not my criteria for evaluating the unit for working properly …the temperature in the house may be a sizing problem not performance …
In fact humidity in the house is a better indicator of unit sizing . .
You can have a unit to big blast freeze a room to a lower temperature but because the unit runs so little before blasting the room with cold air and hitting the stat cut off point it does not remove much humidity so despite the colder temperatures it can still feel uncomfortable.
Longer run times are far more desirable with properly sized units then dropping temperatures quickly with over size units
Last edited by mathjak107; 04-22-2022 at 07:34 AM..
So how can a homeowner know in an amateurish way if the unit is up to par without actually going inside to measure pressure ?
First off forget the 20 degree difference stuff .
The first step for an amateur is to see if the unit has a sight glass …. A sight glass is put on the skinny warmer feeling line going to the condensing unit outside ….not all installers use them but it is a good idea to have one installed .
It is a clear viewing window in to the tubing .
It should look clear with no bubbles passing through .. any bubbles means you are low on refrigerant and have a leak somewhere .
If there is no sight glass then you don’t have the simplest ,easiest way of checking your charge .
Next we move on to the evaporator coil which is the part that gets cold
The air handler section has a fan and that cold coil .
that coil should be cold and sweaty from top to bottom .
Any dry or warm spots as you move your hand from top to bottom indicates you are likely low on refrigerant or have a clogged metering device .
It should be evenly cold and sweaty from top to bottom .the bottom is where you will see a difference if it is not getting enough refrigerant to be cold and sweaty .
The whole coil needs to be cold and sweaty .
There should be no signs of frost anywhere forming .frost or ice are other indicators of being low on refrigerant.
You will likely have to remove the filter to do this if it sits in front of the coil .
Finally , if not a very long run the thicker line running back to the condensing unit should be sweaty too but that can vary a bit depending on run and temperature . The condensing unit is the part outside the house and it has warm air blowing out .
If the above looks good then odds are good the unit is doing what it should .
But that doesn’t mean it is sized right or that the dampers and vents are balanced but at least the unit looks good.
But again , it is no substitute for a good tech actually checking pressures
I also teach ac basics too as the company I do training for is also an LG DISTRIBUTOR so we try to get everyone cross trained
Last edited by mathjak107; 04-22-2022 at 08:43 AM..
We have those same units here in Jamaica… Are you sure that unit is the correct size for your room? We have no problem getting down to 68° using those units. And it’s hot and humid here as well.
Even in the summer when it’s 100 to 106°, we have no issue getting the AC down to 68. These aren’t your typical HVAC units… They’re much more efficient, and much better at keeping a place cool. You might want to have your unit serviced.
We just had it serviced as I mentioned a couple times.
That's depressing news for me, that your same unit works so well. Yes, it's the right size---small bedroom. We have a larger one in the LR.
My guess is that LG sends an inferior version down here. That is the case with many electronics. There's the U.S.-quality version and the So. American crappy version they think no one will know the difference down here and they may be right, for the most part. Maybe Jamaica is more demanding, lol.
We just had it serviced as I mentioned a couple times.
That's depressing news for me, that your same unit works so well. Yes, it's the right size---small bedroom. We have a larger one in the LR.
My guess is that LG sends an inferior version down here. That is the case with many electronics. There's the U.S.-quality version and the So. American crappy version they think no one will know the difference down here and they may be right, for the most part. Maybe Jamaica is more demanding, lol.
SIGH.
How is the placement of the exterior units? I had one that was pathetic, but it was placed on a balcony that faced west and had no shade. Although the overall temperature never reached above mid-90s, I think the temperature on that balcony probably got well over 100.
Who needs A/C @equator?
Who really thinks they can get to 68* @equator? @sea level (beach)?
It really depends on the location at the equator. There's steamy jungle interior lowlands, beach/coastal lowlands, low-humidity highlands at 9K-10K feet (and up). There's Mt. Kilimanjaro (Mt. Kenya, I guess), there are all sorts of environments on the equator.
The OP is in the coastal lowlands. With a decent unit, she should be able to get the room down to 68, especially at night when it's cooler out.
We just had it serviced as I mentioned a couple times.
That's depressing news for me, that your same unit works so well. Yes, it's the right size---small bedroom. We have a larger one in the LR.
My guess is that LG sends an inferior version down here. That is the case with many electronics. There's the U.S.-quality version and the So. American crappy version they think no one will know the difference down here and they may be right, for the most part. Maybe Jamaica is more demanding, lol.
SIGH.
It sounds like you do not have what is considered a/c in the US but a split unit. How well is your unit insulated? Outside walls, inside walls, doors, windows, roof? What temperatures are in the adjoining rooms? How often to you open the door. How long do you run the a/c?
It really depends on the location at the equator. There's steamy jungle interior lowlands, beach/coastal lowlands, low-humidity highlands at 9K-10K feet (and up). There's Mt. Kilimanjaro (Mt. Kenya, I guess), there are all sorts of environments on the equator.
The OP is in the coastal lowlands. With a decent unit, she should be able to get the room down to 68, especially at night when it's cooler out.
Aside from location of the equator - what is a decent unit for where OP is located?
Last edited by mathjak107; 04-22-2022 at 02:30 PM..
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