AC Running a Lot
 

I have my AC set to 76 during the day. Yesterday the temperature was up to 78 inside the house. I changed the filter, it was dirty but not real dirty because I changed it about a month ago. It took 3 hours for the temp to drop back down to 76 in the early evening. I had the AC serviced 2 months ago and all was fine.

Filters are expensive. What type of filter do some of you use and how often do you change it?

We keep ours at 80. Everyone has their own comfort zone.

Yesterday our car thermometer showed 100 degrees.

But even more telling than that, my husband said it was awfully hot on the golf course. (That has NEVER happened before, it usually is JUST PERFECT on the golf course)

It really, REALLY was hot yesterday.

We use the Natural Air filters. About 3 years ago we called in a AC repair man. He stated that the AC can not keep up when it is so hot out for so long. He added freon and we no longer had the problem. Was it because of the heat or because we needed freon? I am just happy the AC works.

Yes, it is all relative. When I come in the house 82 degrees feel mighty cool. We purchased a portable AC for the bedroom. It will be interesting to see our next electric bill.

We keep ours at 80 as well. Either I read or learned or somehow discovered that you should keep the temp relatively constant, not turn it on and off or way up and way down. Yesterday when I was cleaning the house I turned it down to 78. 78 to 80 is a comfortable range for me. I also keep the ceiling fans on all the time. We bought mid-grade filters at Home Depot and change then monthly. But...Nothing beats a cold marggie by the pool!

Annual A/C Maintenance
 

You got to keep the outside unit clean, the inside filter clean (or changed) and the freon topped off. For $80, M&S does a great job every year for us on our annual maintenance. They even replaced the 9 year old compressor under warranty (another A/C service company wanted to charge me $$$$) by calling the manufacturer to check the warranty record, since I'm not the original homeowner. Don't have your thermostat set too low too (78 is a good number) and shut off vents in rooms you don't use much (spare bedroom) in the hot weather.

This is going to be an expensive electric month.

Skip

A/C units are sized depending on area, insulation, windows, and climate. If it is over sized it will cool the house too quickly and not run long enough to bring the humidity down. That would result in a damp, cool house. A properly sized unit will tend to run a lot, sometimes almost constantly, during the hottest months here.

It also depends on the temp you desire. Most of us feel heat and cold differently. (My spouse and I have a one degree differential.) If you can tolerate a degree or two warmer your A/C will run less.

George,

We were using the 3M filters found in the stores in the area, but we noticed a great deal of dust in our home. The performance ratings of those filters were around 350 to 500. So I went on line to find a high performance filter. I found a 3M filter called Filtrete Elite Allergen, with a rating of 2200, advertised to capture 94% of airborne allergens. The site I used was
Filters4Life, and I think they were a reasonable price. We notice far less dust. We change them every 3 months, and they are full of dirt.

Hope this helps.

Our filter looks different then what I'm used to up north. It is approximately 19X20 X 4 inches thick. Is that the size of your filter, Larry.

Filters - where to buy ??
 

Where did you buy these filters ?? I tried to find them the last time we were down and had no luck..

LOL Are you talking to me? My home is only a few months old and I haven't replaced mine yet. I was told it will be pricey because of the massive size. 4 inches thick.

Yes and no... Our home comes up on the one year mark in September and wanted to change the filter the last time down, but couldn't find the 19 X 20 X 4 filter anywhere. Sun Cool wanted $55.00 for one... :22yikes: :cryin2:

At least the current filter wasn't real dirty. Still looked pretty good.

Just looking for somewhere to get these filters.

I hear you. I think I better get off my butt and start looking too. I think that it is supposed to be changed once a year. High Efficiency Air Filter. I'll post when and if I can find one at reasonable price.

Thanks to everyone that responded. I'm going to try the filters that Larry recommended and I guess the bottom line is it's freakin' hot out!
We keep a window unit in the bedroom so we're always cool at night. We just moved here from VT in January so I guess we need to get acclimated.

Search
 

Update, cheapest so far is a 2-pack for $55 plus $8 shipping. That makes it $31.50. Source: Shorty's HVAC Supplies.