I have had enough with our A/C

[exploder3211]

Ok our horrible a/c system won't even keep the apartment below 85 degrees now... Hate to keep bitc** about it but i am payin $640 a month and its SUPPOSED to work.... Couldn't even cook dinner with out it goin up to 90+ degrees... Its too hot.. Our window unit is barley keepin the bedroom below 80 as it is... Ughhhh.... I have reluctantly called mantince but not sure what i can do.. I know i am going to a Hotel and hope they will re imburse me... Ughhhhh...

 

[sudsmaster]

Suggestion: get a bigger window unit. Around here, $650/mo would be a real bargain for rent, even on a studio. Why suffer? You can always bring the window A/C with you when you split the tenement, right?

I'm relatively lucky, I guess. Around here the temps are generally pretty mild. Maybe for 2-3 weeks each summer it can get into the 90's and even the low 100's. For that I recently purchased a couple of 5300 BTU Daewoo's, and they'll be running this summer. Normally I just run fans blowing in cool night air all night during warmer weather, and then button up the house before I go to work. But on weekends that doesn't work as well, and sometimes it just gets too darn stuffy. And during those 2-3 weeks the nights can be warm, too, with off-shore breezes, so the fan technique doesn't work at all. I figure I can retreat to the bedroom to cool off during the worst of it - the other A/C will be in my family room/office where I spend most of my waking hours inside the house anyway.

A bigger window A/C unit surely would be cheaper than staying in a hotel, right?

 

[exploder3211]

My body is highly allerigc to the window a/c, as it dries my sinus out awfully bad.. No, i ahve given mantince 7 days to replace the unit or else we will consider moving to another complex... Ughhh

 

[sudsmaster]

Exploder,

Any A/C that recirculates room air will dry out the air in the apartment; it's a function of the cooling process. Humidity will condense on the cold room-side fins of the air conditioner, and drip away outside the apartment. Most people like this, as dry air feels cooler than moist air (perperation dries faster in dry air, hence your body cools itself better in dehumidified air).

There are some window A/C units that will allow you to cool outside air and force it into the living space. I was at Costco yesterday and they have a Sharp 12000 BTU unit with a little lever that allows one to cool fresh air instead of just recirculating room air. This is nowhere near as energy efficient as recirculating room air, but it would probably result in more humid indoor air, if that is what you want.

It's possible that your apartment's A/C defaults to bringing in outside air, which is why it may seem less drying to you...? It may also explain why it doesn't seem to cool sufficiently. Maybe the damper that controls the fresh air/recirculate function is busted or stuck open?

Another hint is that an oversized A/C unit will not dehumidify the living space as much as a "properly" sized unit, because it doesn't run long enough to remove as much moisture from the air. So if you got a 12,000 BTU unit it's possible it would be more comfortable for you in terms of both humidity and temperature.

Just a guess or two.

PS-Got one of the Daewoo's installed last weekend. Just in time for the mini heat wave we had Wed-Thurs. It worked well enough, but it was a bitch getting it fitted to the horizontal sliding window. I was quite surprised at the amount of water it extracted from the room after just a couple hours running. I found that out when I had to remove it from the window to adjust the fit, and wound up with a puddle on the floor...!

 

[exploder3211]

Our central a/c is kinda working.. I am going to buy a house soon, so as long as i can put up with it for a little while longer, its good. My other half some how prefers i do all of this on my own and he'll just nod and go along...