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Old 06-03-2018, 10:11 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,468 posts, read 10,615,820 times
Reputation: 4244

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I'm trying to figure out what is sucking up the electricity when everything is supposed to be turned off. It's tripled with everything OFF compared to back in April, so something isn't working right. I noticed that when I turn off the central air conditioner unit in my apartment, I hear the sound of running water. I thought it might be water draining from the lines, but even after 15 minutes it does not turn off. It did not do this before (back in March/April when it was only on now and then). I'm talking unit completely turned off, not just set to auto and thermostat raised to shut off compressor.

I googled it and it could be a drip pan overflowing but that seems to apply to humid areas where a lot of moisture is being drawn from the house. That's not the case here, is it? We were less than 10% humidity today. I can ask the apartment to check on it but I didn't want to do that if the A/C is doing something it's supposed to do. I've never had this issue in a central A/C unit before.
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Old 06-03-2018, 11:27 PM
 
Location: Out there somewhere...a traveling man.
44,631 posts, read 61,620,191 times
Reputation: 125810
Try this web site...
https://inspectapedia.com/noise_diag...ping_Noise.php
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Old 06-04-2018, 08:16 AM
 
Location: Chandler, AZ
3,285 posts, read 2,663,139 times
Reputation: 8225
Why not just call for maintenance / repair?
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Old 06-04-2018, 10:39 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,468 posts, read 10,615,820 times
Reputation: 4244
Quote:
Originally Posted by jnojr View Post
Why not just call for maintenance / repair?
I did. I just hate to do that if it's something an appliance normally does. The maintenance guys have enough to do without me adding to the workload with a frivolous request. I've been using a swamp cooler for the past 10 years, and window units for the two years before that. So I'm having to relearn what is normal and not normal for Central A/C.
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Old 06-05-2018, 11:51 AM
 
5,317 posts, read 3,227,783 times
Reputation: 8245
Quote:
Originally Posted by yukon View Post
I'm trying to figure out what is sucking up the electricity when everything is supposed to be turned off.
Anything plugged in sucks some electricity while turned off.

Utilities have pages that talk about this, example:
Save money and energy by becoming an energy vampire hunter
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Old 06-05-2018, 08:21 PM
 
Location: San Antonio
4,468 posts, read 10,615,820 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobsell View Post
Anything plugged in sucks some electricity while turned off.

Utilities have pages that talk about this, example:
Save money and energy by becoming an energy vampire hunter
I should have said "at minimum usage levels" instead of "turned off", my goof. My computer, printer, and a light or two (in the fall/winter) don't suck that much power. Fall/winter electronic usage is 0.4 average, summer electronic usage is 0.6 average (fans). I've been monitoring that for months My lightbulbs are all LED except for maybe one florescent bulb that isn't used much.

The power suck was the water heater, even when not heating. That problem was an easy fix - lowered the temp on the unit and it's turned off at the breaker box except for about 30 minutes in the mornings for showers. It's already made a decent dent in the power consumption. The other power suck is the a/c. It's pulling a good bit even when it's set to on but nothing is running - neither fan nor compressor. That surprised me, since essentially the only thing being used is the thermostat. I have a couple of workarounds for that.

Maintenance came by and we ended up unplugging everything and getting the MPower meter to 0, then adding back in to see what it was. I think they were a little surprised at the "resting" usage of the A/C too.

The noise was the coils cooling, I think the a/c guy said. Whatever it is, it's normal and not unusual to take a while here on a very hot day. I have noticed that it takes a lot longer to stop making the noise on the 110 degree days than on a cooler 100 degree day.
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Old 06-11-2018, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
2,653 posts, read 3,047,472 times
Reputation: 2871
I had a kind-of strange heater/AC problem when I rented a TH in southern CA. The unit was only about 3yrs old, in the attic.

The symptom was a low humming sound. After troubleshooting, etc, I determined the noise was coming from the gas furnace in the attic.

Fortunately, my landlord believed my complaint and hired an HVAC tech to troubleshoot the problem. Turned out to be a noisy electrical box (maybe a transformer? I don't remember now)

The tech wrapped the humming component--problem solved.
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Old 06-11-2018, 01:49 PM
 
Location: Phoenix Metro Area
720 posts, read 734,516 times
Reputation: 860
Hate to be the bearer of bad news - but you may be having a slab leak - we are dealing with this as we speak! if you are on ground floor and hear water running and don't see it anywhere - go take a look at your water meter and if it's turning while no water is being run in the house - 100% you have a slab leak - call a plumber!
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Old 06-11-2018, 11:28 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
2,653 posts, read 3,047,472 times
Reputation: 2871
H
Quote:
Originally Posted by smoochaz View Post
Hate to be the bearer of bad news - but you may be having a slab leak - we are dealing with this as we speak! if you are on ground floor and hear water running and don't see it anywhere - go take a look at your water meter and if it's turning while no water is being run in the house - 100% you have a slab leak - call a plumber!
Yup. I had one a few years ago. They SUCK and plumbers love to gouge you on this one. Watch out!

Looking at the water meter with all fixtures off is a great suggestion (same advice for finding irrigation leaks.)

Last edited by DougStark; 06-11-2018 at 11:31 PM.. Reason: Misspellings
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Old 06-11-2018, 11:32 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
2,653 posts, read 3,047,472 times
Reputation: 2871
Quote:
Originally Posted by smoochaz View Post
Hate to be the bearer of bad news - but you may be having a slab leak - we are dealing with this as we speak! if you are on ground floor and hear water running and don't see it anywhere - go take a look at your water meter and if it's turning while no water is being run in the house - 100% you have a slab leak - call a plumber!
Yup. I had one a few years ago. They SUCK and plumbers love to gouge you on this one. Watch out!

Looking at the water meter with all fixtures off is a great suggestion (same advice for finding irrigation leaks.)
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