PROBLEMS WITH A NEW A/C IN A NEW HOUSE

[englishjimbo]

Long story.
Purchased a brand new house in Palm Desert ca (Indio) back in April this year, this is a vacation home, the house is 1,512 sq ft, single floor, 10ft high ceilings, the A/C seemed to work fine in April, however when I went back down in May the A/C would not keep the set temperature, I had it set at 75 and it would only go down to 76 during the early hours of the morning, during the day time it would go up to 80, the builder sent 3 guys around to look at it and they said it was fine but I should have it set to 80 to make it work good, I told them you have to be joking, anyway I set it to 80 but during the day time it went up to 83, in all this time when the temperature was going up, the A/C was working 100% of the time, left for a month then came back in July same thing it would just go up during the day time, the builder talked me into adding extra insulation in the attic, I told them that it would not work but I went ahead with it, as soon as it was done I set it back to 75, well it did go down to 75 during the early hours of the morning, but same thing during the day time, it went up to 80 again, after testing it at 75 for a few days (failed the test) I set it back to 79 well it went up to 83 during the day time, the build now says there is nothing wrong with me A/C and they refuse to do anything with it, I have a ADT thermostat as I live in Canada and I can change the temperature from my I-phone from here, plus it gives me the history of the temperatures in the house, I have even shown the builder these, all they say is that it will have a slight temperature veriance.
What would be wrong with it, or is this what an A/C performs like.
The A/C is a lenox 3 ton (that is what they tell me)

[George2]

It could be a number of things, also, maybe more than just one thing or issue. You'll need to stay on top of it. It sounds like they are not too interested in getting to the problem. You should be able to cool the home at least 20 degrees cooler than the outside temperature.

[englishjimbo]

The outside temperature could be as high as 120 in Indio ca, so that would mean the house inside temperature could be as high as 100, what is the point of having an A/C I could live with 120 if I had to live with 100

[mechanical'al]

I would keep after them as they will want you to be happy, see to it ,dont let them run you over. a well built home with a properly sized system should make you comfortable as Im sure thats what you were charged for and paid top dollar for!

[englishjimbo]

I have asked them for the Title 24 and got no reply from them, this builder is one of, if not the biggest builder in the USA, other houses same model as mine have had problems and they changed the A/C from a 2 ton to a 3 ton, but they say mine is a 3 ton as they stopped using the 2 ton on my model, the house next to me just got finished and the owner moved in, I asked her how her A/C performs and she said it worked great, mine does not work hardly at all, I am not there right now, will not be back down until sometime in Oct, I have it set at 94 while not there, even at that it has to run for 10 to 15 mins to bring the temperature back down to 94 when it hits 95 inside the house, outside temperature is like 105.

[hvac hero]

Do you have your model number in any of your paperwork ?


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[pacnw]

As an average, it can take an hour to cool 1 degree, so the fact it takes only 15 minutes to drop a degree at that temp shows it can work.

If you are expecting it to come down 10 degrees in a short period of time with a high outdoor temp, then you may be expecting too much. Without being there it is hard to be specific.

The thermostat you have does have the ability to access it remotely, correct? If so, and if you are not doing so already, turn on the a/c prior to arrival to give it time to do its job.

Also, if it gets to and maintains a desired temp, the unit is probably working and sized properly. This is a generalization.

Unlike heating where you are adding to the temp of the house, a/c is actually the removal of heat. Think of it like your car radiator, once it overheats or gets really hot it takes quite a bit to cool it down.

[firecontrol]

With you being a owner that doesn't live there full time I would venture a guess that the builder is either hoping you will give up or the warranty will run out, either way they are off the hook for making it right.

Is it right? No. What's wrong? As others have said, it could be a number of things. Who is responsible for making it right? The builder.

I'm assuming the builder had to pull permits for the house and the AC. Contact the building inspection department and voice your concerns that either something wasn't built to the specifications that the builder supplied to them or something is wrong with how either the home or the AC equipment is performing.

Next thing I would suggest is contacting an attorney ( I hate even suggesting this, but it seems more incentive is needed to get the builder to acknowledge the issue and the fact that you're not living there and time is an important factor in getting this resolved ) and have a letter drafted to the builder and whoever else is involved. I'd suggest the attorney take over "negotiations" with the builder.

[englishjimbo]

Not with me, I think it is a Lennox axc 13, I had a photo of the model# and serial# but can not find it

Do you have your model number in any of your paperwork ?


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[second opinion]

Not with me, I think it is a Lennox axc 13, I had a photo of the model# and serial# but can not find it

Did the installing company give you any paper work with field data such as pressures and temperatures voltage etc.?

[dan sw fl]

The outside temperature could be as high as 120 in Indio ca, so that would mean the house inside temperature could be as high as 100, what is the point of having an A/C I could live with 120 if I had to live with 100

If you are not willing to call an independent A/C firm, you're NOT to going to get ANYWHERE,
_________________ -------------
except maybe Growing A BIGGER KNOT on your head from banging it on the wall
and continue to be H O T and Bothered.

[udarrell]

I don't know what the summer design temp is in your desert climate; but the A/C should be sized to handle the load-calc at that design temp.
In that very hot dry climate the airflow should be set at 460-CFM up-to 500-CFM per ton of cooling; the duct system & Return-Air filter area sizing has to be large enough accordingly...

It would appear that the home is not Energy Efficient & if I were in your shoes I would have a Home Energy Efficiency Audit performed to document the problems.

Then have the retro-work performed & a load-calc performed to determine equipment sizing & proper duct system design engineering.

The A/C should be tested for its delivered performance; every HVAC company needs to know how to get at least a decent ballpark performance result.
It is not that difficult to do...

[dan sw fl]

Palm Springs Thermal AirPort ASHRAE 0.4% = 111'F Dry Bulb 73'F Wet Bulb
brought to you by American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers

76'F INSIDE .. Differential Design Temperature should actually be 35'F
.......... ... ... ... ... ... Learn something New _ _ once in a while

[dan sw fl]

What are the exhaust fan capacities?

What are the actual exhaust fan air flow rates?

Are the fans operating continuously ?