"Hail Storm" wrote in message
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"Vic Dura" wrote in message
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On Tue, 21 Aug 2007 20:16:04 -0500, "Hail Storm"
wrote Re a/c vs. the sun:

Should I expect more
from the a/c or was I spoiled by the shady trees and powerful heat pumps
back east?

Sounds like the a/c is functioning ok, but too small for the heat
load.

How about a couple of small window a/c units? They are cheap and could
provide supplemental cooling when/were you need it.
--
To email me directly, remove CLUTTER.



Thanks everyone for your responses. I have to conclude that the a/c unit
for my apartment is old, undersized, but it's still working, probably as
well as it can. It doesn't go into the continuous-run
questionable-performance mode unless the sun is scorching this apartment,
and this place was built in 1969, and I'm not so sure insulation and
things like that were a big concern then for apartments. Back east it
seemed like in 1969, half the projects had "central" (boilers and chiller)
heating and cooling, half had small individual gas furnaces/electric
individual a/c. I know of some places where people on the 3rd (top)
floor, on the "afternoon side" were pretty miserable during much of the
summer. One in particular the third floor tenants would often have 85
degree days inside, with a/c running. Now a lot of developments have
gotten rid of their boilers and chillers, stuffed air handlers/refrigerant
coils in the small "utility closets" that were used during the "chilled
and heated water" days (which were lousy for spring and fall) and put heat
pumps either on the roofs or on the ground and run refrigerant lines into
the units (along, of course, with major rewiring and individual electric
metering). I thought that was a pretty good way to go, except that the
developments had pretty bad single-pane windows and no insulation. The
place I lived at before moving out west replaced all windows with really
nice double-pane windows, and I've been told several developments in the
area (suburbs of DC) have replaced windows to go with the individual
heating and cooling.

Out here heat pumps are scarce in the garden apartments I've seen; perhaps
because the temperatures can be rather extreme. For heat - there are a
lot of just plain resistance-heated apartments, some gas, (lucky me, plain
electric, I think it draws about 8 KW); my winter electric bills were not
bad at all probably thanks to the contribution of the sun (which is now
paying me back with the lame a/c and no doubt next month's bill will be
off the charts). Here the apartments are in "various states" - some have
double pane windows, most do not (mine does) and most don't have
weatherstripping (!) on the door to the apartment (it's a huge hallway,
not exposed). Mine does have weatherstripping, the only one in my
stairwell. A former tenant must have b*tched about it. The "model" has a
decent bi-fold door with air intake grilles on the bottom; the few "real
apartments" I've seen are like mine, equipped with a "decorative but not
meant as an air intake" door with small openings.

After living in heat-pump equipped apartments since 1977 it was a shock
(no pun intended) to see this place with a "plain electric furnace."

YES the idea of a window unit for an "assist" during the hottest days
would be great. However, being an apartment with the usual apartment
rules (they all seem to read from the same manual) I'm not allowed to have
anything hanging from the windows (small window shaker). The only thing I
can think of then is to use a portable, and I even have one - but I bought
it in a deep-discount sale at good old Home Depot several years ago
(Maytag branded) but I haven't tried it because it's a "single hose"
contraption; it would pull conditioned air from the apt., cool it's
condensor, and expel hot air out the window vent. I have to wonder how
much heat it would bring in to make up that air, though. I did try it
once a few years ago and it really didn't accomplish much. Now I realize
the twin-hose models are the way to go, but no $$$ for that. Another huge
downside is that if I put up the window vent in the usual sliding-glass
frame, it would be a huge risk in one of the fierce thunderstorms that pop
up (and quickly go away) here though on one of those 'guaranteed 100%
sunny scorchers' it would be worth a try.

Thanks everyone again, for your suggestions!

Bill
The suggestion to use outside shades is very good where you have a lot of
exposed glass.

Don Young