DIYbanter - View Single Post - A/C working properly? Cost

Logan Shaw

wrote:
It's 90 deg. outside, humidity is 37%. The A/C is set to 80 deg. The
temp in the apartment is at 83 deg, and hasn't gone below that. The A/
C has been running non-stop for hours. The temp out of the vents is
colder than the air in the apartment, but not a lot colder. (I don't
have a thermometer.)

Maintenance fixed the A/C only a month ago when it completely quit
working. Our electric bill that month was $320 for a 800 sq ft
apartment.

Maintenance is coming tomorrow. How do I make sure they fix the unit
right, or make the landlord replace it if it won't work properly? The
electric bill is outragous.

I've been through this. The thermostat was set at 75F, and the A/C
would literally run all day and all night, and even just before dawn,
the A/C would not have brought the temperature down low enough to
shut off.

Apartment management came out and "fixed" it, the thing worked much
better for a few weeks, then it was back how it was before.

It was an 834 sq. ft. apartment, and the electric bill was $260.
My upstairs neighbor, who had an identical floor plan, never had a
bill anywhere near that high.

This is as much a problem of dealing with the apartment management
as it is a technical problem. As others have said, get a thermometer
and measure the temperature difference between the air going in and
coming out. If it can't manage 20F, it's broken. Make sure they
know that. And on an issue like this, never make a maintenance request
or follow-up without putting it in writing. This can be a form of
their that you fill out, or it can be a quick letter that you type up.
When they have a paper trail, it's much harder to "forget" about
things that require work. (Apartment management companies eat, sleep,
and breathe paperwork. They are constantly doing huge reports on
everything and printing it all out to send to the regional office.)
If they get uncooperative, send the requests by certified mail.
Of course, be civil.

One final comment: it sounds like your electric bills are about
double what they should be. If the apartment management denies the
existence of a problem, it might be worthwhile to get your own guy
to come out and look at it and tell you what kind of shape it's in.
Even if this costs you $100, it'll be worth it if it results in
action because you are throwing away more than that much in
needless electric usage every month.

- Logan