"jas kim" wrote in message
om...
Hi
I bought a new house from one of these bulk builders. THe house is a
two story house with two separate A/C units. I have been having some
trouble in the summer here in Florida with the unit upstairs. While
it cools adequetely, it seems to stay on all the time. Ie it does not
cycle on or off like a normal A/C when it is set at any temperature
below 77 degrees. The fact that it stays on continuously concerns me
as I suspect that this will ultimately affect its useful life.
In either case after bringing out the A/C company three times they
think it is quite normal and ok considering it is the summer and we
are in Florida.
Not being satisfied, I went down the street and noted that the A/C
units that were used in an exact house like mine from the same builder
were a bit bigger and more efficient. Now the house was more recently
built so I think that may explain why they have more efficient units
especially with the EPA continuously increasing the standard. HOwever
I am curious to know why they installed a larger unit in the other
house.
My question is whether the differences in the unit are large enough to
warrant further inquiry or if the differences are trivial. I am just
a lay man so I dont know what is a significant btu/h difference. In
either case, I have a regular unit and a heat pump unit whereas the
house I am comparing had two heat pump units.
Here are the specs of the two units in my house:
Lennox - 10ACC-036
10.9 Seers
Cooling - 27,600 - 29,000 btu/h
Lennox - 10HPB30
10.5 Seers
HSPF IV 6.95 / V - 5.95
Cooling 28,000 - 29,800 btu/h
Heating 25,400 - 26,000 btu/h
The house I compared had two heat pump units that were the same size.
The spec of them were as follows:
Lennox - 12HPB30 (x 2)
12 Seers
HSPF IV 8.2 / V - 7.25
Cooling 28,400 - 31,000 btu/h
Heating 29,600 - 30,400 btu/h
So the question is whether the differences in cooling and heating
between my units and the units on the comparison house are significant
enough to explain the problem I am facing.
Any other comments appreciated.
Thanks
jasguild
Did the guy down the street pay for an upgraded unit? Even an 12 seer is
no bargain in today's market. There are units getting close to 20 out there
now.
As for the upstairs unit running all of the time. Yeah that is what is going
to happen when heat rises. In the winter the bottom will run longer. One of
the biggest reasons for me not to own an 2 story home. Unless you can shut
off the stair well your always going to have heat rising.
I worked on an 2 story home in Arizona once had a 5 ton down and 3 ton up.
The 3 ton never shut off during the summer months. The owner finally tired
of the $800 a month electric bills remodeled the 6 month old home with doors
at the top of the stairs so that the upstairs unit would cycle during the
summer. The upstairs unit quit working on the third year.
If you planning on staying in the home check the insulation in the attic. At
the beginning of the summer I added R-19 to my attic, (home built in 1999)
I am new to the home, previous owner had bills of $250 a month. My high so
far is $154
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