A/C issues

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Old 06-27-2018, 07:37 PM
Gonavy Gonavy is offline
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Default A/C issues

Question...We brought a new house in 2017...and seem to be having issues with the MUNNS A/C. WE have had the service people out several times and they can not find an issue and said the house temp will only be 15 degrees lower than it is outside. Is that a true? So if the outside temp is 100 degrees, the house temp at 85 is acceptable? Also, our A/C will not come on u until the outside temp hits 85 degrees...is this also acceptable? WE like the house to remain at 76 degree. We average 79... seems like it turns off or will not kick after 11pm thru 9;30 the next morning even if we turn temp down from 76. both units garage and outside are running but house is not cooling. 79 is about where we stay

any thoughts, suggestions, experiences? thanks
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Old 06-27-2018, 07:56 PM
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That sounds nuts.

No, it's absolutely not true that an A/C can only keep a house...15 degrees warmer than ambient.

Something is seriously wrong here, either with your unit...or the people MUNNS' is sending to you.
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Old 06-27-2018, 08:36 PM
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I heard on the news (I think) typical A/C units will keep the house at least 20 degrees cooler than outside. So a few questions, have you or the A/C people changed the filter, this needs to be changed at least twice a year, be sure it is installed in the correct direction. Also make sure you have the correct MERV rating. Is your controller programmed correctly, we keep our house at 78, and A/C works just fine, 5 years old this month. Did A/C people check that all the vents are open? When the A/C is operating can you go room to room and check individual registers to see if all are getting cold air, if you have one (not a return register) that is not putting out cold air see if you or A/C person can look at the duct, in case it has separated.
This is all of the ideas I have for now.
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Old 06-27-2018, 08:37 PM
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You should easily be able to cool your home to the temperature and humidity level you desire, within common sense limits. Despite what the temperature is outside, anyone should be able to keep their home in the low 70's 24/7.

Studies have shown that most folks say the "perfect" inside temperature is 75 degrees at 50% humidity. Some like it colder than that, some higher. The point is that it should be easily achievable with a properly running A/C system.

Is your filter clean? What is your Delta T reading? We look for a Delta T of between 14-22 degrees typically, with some variation allowed under certain circumstances. Is your unit icing up? Are the fans working, etc,etc...?

If you bought your home in 2017, this should still be under warranty. This is one of the many things that are thoroughly checked and documented during a warranty inspection. You must get this addressed during the first year to have the cost of repair covered. If you have not dealt with this through the Warranty department, you must do this without delay.

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Old 06-27-2018, 08:52 PM
Wiotte Wiotte is offline
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No one here is reading you correctly. You said the AC is not coming on until the outside is 85 degrees ?
That’s problem #1
That and that alone demands a call to the service manager so he sends a tech that knows what he’s doing.


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Old 06-27-2018, 08:53 PM
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That's a bunch of crap. I set ours a 77 and it stays there even when it's 97 outside.
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Old 06-27-2018, 09:10 PM
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We keep our house at 74 and our 20-year-old AC unit has no problem maintaining it. Call Chuck Farrell and have him check it out.
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Old 06-27-2018, 09:21 PM
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Re-reading the original post, there seems to be multiple problems here that cannot be diagnosed without being there. Your A/C of course is designed to come on and off based on your inside temperature, so the outside temperature, time of day or night, etc., would have nothing to do with it's operation. Any normal, currently running A/C unit should maintain the temperature you are seeking.

Since the home is less than one year old, it should be under warranty. For homes no longer under warranty I often recommend Chuck Ferrall...I have never met him, but he has many positive reviews here. In this case, this being a new house, it seems that the homeowner should not have to pay for anything....he just needs someone out there with the skill set to troubleshoot and remedy the issue.
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Old 06-30-2018, 06:59 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gonavy View Post
Question...We brought a new house in 2017...and seem to be having issues with the MUNNS A/C. WE have had the service people out several times and they can not find an issue and said the house temp will only be 15 degrees lower than it is outside. Is that a true? So if the outside temp is 100 degrees, the house temp at 85 is acceptable? Also, our A/C will not come on u until the outside temp hits 85 degrees...is this also acceptable? WE like the house to remain at 76 degree. We average 79... seems like it turns off or will not kick after 11pm thru 9;30 the next morning even if we turn temp down from 76. both units garage and outside are running but house is not cooling. 79 is about where we stay

any thoughts, suggestions, experiences? thanks
Call Warranty FIRST. Always call Warranty first.
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Old 06-30-2018, 07:19 AM
village dreamer village dreamer is offline
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sounds like it could be a thermostat problem , set it on manual for 76 and see what happens
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Old 06-30-2018, 07:20 AM
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There are two warranties: the 1 year home warranty and the 10 year parts/5 year labor warranty on the HVAC equipment. For homes still under the HVAC warranty, they should work with the original installation company and escalate as needed to have the issue addressed. Unless another HVAC contractor is an authorized dealer for your equipment and is going to honor the 10 year parts/5 year labor warranty, I would stick with the original installer. I have found Munns to be very responsive and competent.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DangeloInspections View Post
Re-reading the original post, there seems to be multiple problems here that cannot be diagnosed without being there. Your A/C of course is designed to come on and off based on your inside temperature, so the outside temperature, time of day or night, etc., would have nothing to do with it's operation. Any normal, currently running A/C unit should maintain the temperature you are seeking.

Since the home is less than one year old, it should be under warranty. For homes no longer under warranty I often recommend Chuck Ferrall...I have never met him, but he has many positive reviews here. In this case, this being a new house, it seems that the homeowner should not have to pay for anything....he just needs someone out there with the skill set to troubleshoot and remedy the issue.
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Old 06-30-2018, 07:43 AM
Brandigirl Brandigirl is offline
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Had the same problem with our brand new home. We expanded our home and I told them to make sure we had the correct tonnage (BTU's ) for expanding the home. They put in a 4,000 ton when I think it should have been 5,000. Was told by the A/C people the same thing that GONAVY said in his post. The A/C guy said that The Villages has a calculation they use to determine this. He said someone took them to court on this and LOST. We are in the same boat. Can't get the temp below 75-76 degrees when it is extremely hot outside.
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Old 06-30-2018, 08:05 AM
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The industry standard when designing the size of your air conditioner is to maintain 15 degrees cooler than the outside temperature. Sounds silly but it's true. The result is an undersized or borderline sized unit that will have trouble cooling your house on the hottest days. With this design it is imperative that your undersized unit is giving you 100% of it's capacity. A master technician can field verify how many BTU's your unit is producing. If it won't come on until it is 85 degrees outside then they must have programed your thermostat to do that. Your unit must cool regardless of the outside temperature otherwise it will never catch up when it gets above 85. Until you get resolution I suggest removing any programs and use the thermostat in its "manual" mode. You don't want some "ghost" program turning you unit off.
Good luck,
Bruce
Florida State Certified Central A/C Contractor
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Old 06-30-2018, 08:12 AM
Wiotte Wiotte is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandigirl View Post
Had the same problem with our brand new home. We expanded our home and I told them to make sure we had the correct tonnage (BTU's ) for expanding the home. They put in a 4,000 ton when I think it should have been 5,000. Was told by the A/C people the same thing that GONAVY said in his post. The A/C guy said that The Villages has a calculation they use to determine this. He said someone took them to court on this and LOST. We are in the same boat. Can't get the temp below 75-76 degrees when it is extremely hot outside.


It’s called a manual J calculation which errs on the side of minimum rather than maximum tonnage. Sometimes all it takes is an extra half ton which will prevent the house to exceed the tipping point which can’t be recovered until the sun goes down. The courts do not have expertise in engineering matters and will rely on the testimony from HVAC “experts”.


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Old 06-30-2018, 08:17 AM
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The state of Florida mandates that the so-called Manual J calculation be done for all new construction. Manual J is a heat gain/heat loss calculation for the entire home and takes into account such things as the size of the home, orientation, amount of window and the quality of the windows, the insulation in the home, etc. The calculation will essentially come up with the required number of BTUs to maintain a certain indoor temperature and humidity assuming a certain outdoor temperature and humidity. The actual equipment sizing in BTUs will typically be a bit larger than the Manual J calculation since the nominal performance of the equipment as measured in a lab is somewhat greater than when it is installed in a house plus other inefficiencies such as heat gain through the ducts in the house. Equipment sizing is typically on half ton increments. On days where the outside temperature and humidity exceed the figures used in the Manual J calculation and/or your desired indoor temperature is below the Manual J design point, then it is possible that the system will not be able to maintain your desired indoor temperature. The Manual J calculation typically won't be based on outdoor temperature and humidity values that rarely occur. There are other possible issues such as the quality of the duct installation.

Your Manual J calculation for your home is available on-line. I can't remember the exact county website but with some googling you should be able to find it. You can check the indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity assumptions and other inputs that went into the calculation of the number of tons of cooling you need. By the way, a ton is 12,000 BTUs. The size of your system is 4 tons, not 4000 tons.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandigirl View Post
Had the same problem with our brand new home. We expanded our home and I told them to make sure we had the correct tonnage (BTU's ) for expanding the home. They put in a 4,000 ton when I think it should have been 5,000. Was told by the A/C people the same thing that GONAVY said in his post. The A/C guy said that The Villages has a calculation they use to determine this. He said someone took them to court on this and LOST. We are in the same boat. Can't get the temp below 75-76 degrees when it is extremely hot outside.

Last edited by biker1; 06-30-2018 at 08:30 AM.
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