# AC won't cool below 78; service guy keeps saying nothing is wrong



## cvf6231 (Jul 29, 2015)

I have 3 HVAC units in my house-- 2 downstairs and 1 upstairs. House and units are 9 years old. We've only lived here for a year and don't spend much time at all upstairs, so it's hard to say what's "normal" for upstairs.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that upstairs unit wasn't working at all. Called service guy out (highly recommended company, installed all units originally). He said condenser fan motor was shot and replaced it. Unit seemed to be working fine.

About a week later, I tried setting the thermostat at 75 because I was spending some time upstairs (we normally keep it at 78). In the middle of the day when it's really hot (close to 100 degrees outside here in OK), the upstairs will not cool below 78-- no matter what I set it at. The unit is clearly working...just won't get the rooms that cool.

I changed all air filters, verified that all vents are opened. Finally I called the same company back out. The guy just checked everything. He cleaned the condenser even though he said it wasn't very dirty. He is telling me he has no explanation for why it's not getting cool enough. He said the unit is working at full capacity but that being 9 years old "well, you know, just as we age..." He didn't try to sell me a new unit or anything else. No mention of the unit being undersized for our house. All he could offer was maybe we need to have someone come and re-blow the insulation. He mentioned maybe we should have ducts rebalanced but he won't do it because it's so hot right now.

Any thoughts? This seems crazy to me that it's just an "oh well 78 is all you get." I can call another company, but I already refused to pay a service fee on this second service call because I feel like they didn't do anything for me. I don't want to pour more money into another company's service charge, especially if their only solution will be to sell me a new unit that we don't need.


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## beachguy005 (Jul 30, 2015)

So he did do some work for you and confirmed that your system was working to its maximum, but because it's very hot outside, hot in your attic where you may or may not need more insulation, and he didn't try to sell you something you didn't need...that's grounds to stiff him?
You're quite the citizen.


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## cvf6231 (Jul 31, 2015)

I can assure you this guy in no way got "stiffed." He works for a relatively large company and is not a one-man show. I talked to the company customer service people several times before scheduling the second service call and told them that I would not pay a second service charge when I had just paid them to come out on this same unit. So this is a discussion that was had before they even sent the tech. I agreed to pay a second service charge only if they found a new issue that needed to be repaired (which they didn't). Sorry I did not feel the need to explain all of that in original post.

If anything, I feel like I am the one getting stiffed. I never had problems like this before. I paid them $500 2 weeks ago just to replace a fan motor. No one said anything about how "sometimes it just won't cool below a certain temperature" when I was paying for that service. 

The point of my thread was to ask if I am being unreasonable. If this does in fact happen where sometimes totally normally functioning equipment that is properly sized and properly maintained just can't keep up on really hot days. The tech did not go in the attic and did not check the output on any ducts, so I think he just threw out the insulation and duct ideas as guesses without any investigation. I am trying to figure out if it is worth calling another company or if I just need to wait out the hottest part of the summer.


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## nealtw (Jul 31, 2015)

So did it do better in the same heat and humidity before it broke down, and was this the problem when they did the work?


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## beachguy005 (Jul 31, 2015)

So you're thinking of calling another company, good idea.  If they tell you the same thing as the first guy will you stiff them also?  Frankly, anyone can tell you you need a larger unit, and try to sell you one, but a too large of a unit can be just as bad as one that's too small.


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## Sparky617 (Jul 31, 2015)

What is the current temperature outside?  HVAC units are good for about a 20 degree drop.  If you're in the high 90's right now the unit could work all day and not get you into the low 70s.


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## Speedbump (Jul 31, 2015)

> What is the current temperature outside? HVAC units are good for about a 20 degree drop. If you're in the high 90's right now the unit could work all day and not get you into the low 70s.



That and the fact that it's upstairs where all the heat goes.  I have an 1100 sq ft pool house that the upstairs is at least 10° hotter than the downstairs and the same unit cools both floors.


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## cvf6231 (Jul 31, 2015)

It is better than before they came out the first time but not better than this time last summer, if that makes sense. So when they came out the first time, it was not working at all. Now it is cooling but not below 78 degrees. We did not have problems getting it below 78 before it completely broke down. 

It is definitely hot outside. 90 degrees temp with heat index of 96. I have spoken to friends and neighbors and no one else is having problems cooling their upstairs below 78. My downstairs will go as low as I set it (and the house is very open floor plan, like 2 story entry, 2 story living room, if that makes a difference).

And that's really all I was asking-- is it just normal that sometimes you can't get below a certain temperature in hot weather? I could understand if I were trying to get it to, say, 65 degrees, but I have never encountered a house where getting below 78 is unreasonable. If that's just the way it is, then maybe I do need to be talking to someone about insulation or duct work or something like that because all of the bedrooms except master are on the second floor. My frustration is with the lack of an answer as to why a supposedly normally functioning unit that serves only that one area is not cooling that one area more.

Beachguy, I appreciate your input but I do not think it is appropriate to accuse me of "stiffing" someone when you have not been present for any of my conversations with this company. And by the way, the guy did not charge me for cleaning the condenser because he said the first guy should have cleaned it as part of the first service but didn't. I certainly do not expect to get something for nothing, and I would never refuse to pay for a service after the fact. If I were to call another company, I would pay them the agreed-upon service charge even if they said the same thing. End of story.


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## nealtw (Jul 31, 2015)

Is it possible that one of the lower units is not working as it should and allowing more hot air to go upstairs, make the upper unit work harder than ever?


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## frodo (Jul 31, 2015)

my question is.

was the unit, before the fan went out.

keeping the upstairs cool?

check the upstairs  ,  outdoor condenser fan..is it turning clock ways or counter clock


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## buffalo (Aug 1, 2015)

You said it was close to 100 degrees outside and you got it to 78 degrees inside on the second floor. It's working properly.

The unit is probably not large enough to do more . I would say it is not undersized , your dealing with extreme heat that isn't the everyday norm. A larger oversized unit would Cool you on a day lime this that may happen a few times a year , but wouldn't work properly on a normal day.the problem with oversized units is they blast a room with cold air so fast then turn off. You want the unit to run longer because it takes the humidity out of the air as it runs longer.


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## joecaption (Aug 2, 2015)

No mention on how much insulation is in the attic, was it air sealed before insulating? 
Is there soffit vents and a ridge vent?
Are the soffit vent's plugged with insulation?
Old leaky single pane windows?
Any insulation in the walls?
Balloon wall constrution?


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