It’s still officially only Spring, but crazy hot temperatures are here putting stress on you and your a/c system. The reason why your air conditioner can’t keep up with the high 90-degree heat wave will not make you happy. It simply is NOT designed to. We have received dozens of calls from tenants frustrated with their a/c’s limited capacity to keep up with the heat outside.
Your a/c is not designed for high 90 degrees outside temperatures. There is likely nothing wrong with your system. While it seems abnormal for your house to be 77 degrees when it’s set for 71, the sustained high temperature outside is also abnormal. Your a/c is sized for what the temperature is most likely to be in the summer the high 80’s to low 90’s being the norm for our area. Your a/c is designed to cool a maximum of 20 degrees from the outside temperature. Pretty simple math: if it’s high 90’s outside and your a/c is getting to 80 or below – it is doing its job.
Although there is nothing you can do to control the outside temperature, there are several things to prevent the hot air from coming inside:
- Keep your blinds and curtains closed during the day.
- Set your thermostat higher when you are not home so your a/c unit gets a break throughout the day.
- When cooling your home, lower the thermostat 2 degrees at a time so the unit can gradually cool the space and prevent it from freezing up.
- CHANGE YOU AIR FILTER MONTHLY
- DO NOT USE THE 90-DAY FILTERS – THEY MAKE THE SYSTEM WORK HARDER – USE THE 30-DAY FILTERS AND CHANGE THEM MONTHLY
- Cut back any shrubs or debris around the outdoor unit. If you are not responsible for yard care, please make a maintenance request through your tenant portal for this to be done.
- Wait until it’s cooler outside to do laundry or run the dishwasher.
- Grill outside instead of turning on the stove or oven.
- Don’t close off vents, your system needs to dispense air evenly without too much pressure.
Like any mechanical system, your a/c needs to be maintained. The majority of service calls we receive in the Spring/Summer can be prevented with monthly maintenance. If you’ve been lucky enough to not have an emergency so far, you should follow the steps listed above which includes keeping your system clean by CHANGING YOUR AIR FILTER MONTHLY. It still may not make it cooler in your home, but it will at least keep the unit from failing from being overworked.
Your Property Management Team
R.W. Caldwell, Inc.
