Power usage for 1991 Trane XE900 - 44amps

Helpppppppppppppppp.........Electric bill approx. $569 last month. Not running the A/C either.

I have been pretty sick the last 6+ months and had all my bills paid automatically through my credit union so the wife would not have to worry about them.

I just found my electric bill doubled last February 14 thru March 13, 2008. From an average of 40 kwh per day (which was normal for us except for summer usage)....to 75-82 kwh with the March 14th bill. No A/C on at that time. In the summer my kwh per day rose to 110. Unprecedented in our 25 years in this house. No changes in consumption, new washer/dryer...new kitchenaid top-of-the-line dishwasher with power saving features. We even hang our clothes out on the line in the summer because the idiots running Kalifornia can't get new power plants built. We put a small window air conditioner in our master bedroom so the Central Air doesn't have to run at night. THEN we turn our whole house fan on about 6am when it is coolest. Usually don't have to turn on the A/C until 3pm or so.

Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District (SMUD) sent a guy out today to put
a device on our new electronic meter to check it .... they drive by and it transmits numbers to them. The device will stay on for a week.

I turned our A/C on and he checked the power consumption on both legs coming off the main breaker panel. almost exactly the same -- 22 amps on each leg. 44 amps at 120 volts. That seems high to me ... he said he did not know what this old of a model would use. Any ideas?

Our electric bill is averaged out for approx. 6 months at a time if I remember correctly. We have been being charged the $569 figure for 3 months and will be charged that amount a few more months, or until we find the problem.

He also tested the power coming out of the meter, into our main breaker panel. The left leg was about 3.5 amps, the right leg was about 14.5 amps and the third leg (ground ??) was about 3.5 amps. He said something was wrong. We may have a "ground loop" bleeding off power somewhere.

We have only added two things since last Feb 14th --- and he checked one of those, it was ok. The other I disconnected at the breaker box, just in case it has a problem. I am only adding this last info in case one of you has seen this before. I am mainly interested in whether the Trane XE 900 is using about the right amount of current. My interior voltage is about 123-124 volts most of the time. Any suggestions appreciated. Thanks

Sounds like you need an electrician. The ground should see a current equal to the difference of the other two phases. In your case 14.5-3.5=11 Amps. Don't know what that means but it doesn't seem right to me.

Cant' answer your ac question without more info. What size or model??

It is using 22 amps at 220 volts. not 44 amps.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 1991xe900

I turned our A/C on and he checked the power consumption on both legs coming off the main breaker panel. almost exactly the same -- 22 amps on each leg. 44 amps at 120 volts.

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what?



.

Without knowing the size of teh A/C, the amp draw means nothing.
And its 22 amps.
240 volt doesn't get read as seperate amp reading for billing, or energy consumption.

Its not the ground that is the difference between the 2 hot legs. Its the nuetral.
The ground is not to be a load carring wire.

Do you have a heat pump?

Sorry about that, 4 ton and no heat pump.

It must have been the neutral wire. I am not an electrician...obviously.

The SMUD rep checked each wire going from the CB panel to the A/C unit. Each leg of 120 volts had.

22 amps of 240 volts is equal to 44 amps of 120 volts. NO??

I found the "ground loop". After disconnecting the wires my consumption for the next four hours was 4 kwh. I hope that cures it. It was new wiring and I have called the electrician who did it. I still don't know why it happened, I hope he does.

My apologies for the earlier omissions. It has been a stressful day.

Back to the 1991 Trane XL900, 4 ton A/C unit. Is 22 amps at 240 volts too high?? If so, any ideas of how to lower it? It was working fairly well last summer.

Nope. 22 amps is fine for a 4 ton of that age.

Although 44 amps at 120 volts is the same wattage as 22 amps at 240 volts.
If you tell a tech your A/C is drawing 44 amps. We think 44 amps at 240 volts.

1991 model trane would already be in the scrap yard in my area :)

that unit has been running on borrowed time :p

Gentlemen, thanks for the feedback on the power consumption.

And yes, I came to this forum several months ago to ask about replacing it. I was told (more or less) to keep it as long as it worked ok. So I have. I thought I needed a 5 ton, but wound up with a 4 ton. Can't remember why.

We have about 2550 SF home, R 33 in the attic, R 13 in the walls (I think, the house was built in 1978 with major additions in 1986. Dual Pane windows... on a slab. We had our ducts upgraded and replaced a few years ago.
Thanks again ....