Derek Cole explains why your AC won't reach the temperature you set. Your system can only cool about 20 degrees below the outdoor temperature, and heat from cooking, people, and open doors makes it worse. Get maintenance twice a year, and call a pro if it's still not cooling at night.
Questions this episode answers
About 20°F differential between indoor setpoint and outdoor temperature.
Twice a year.
2023-08-10.
Chapters
Hey, what's going on, everyone? Derek Cole here with Simmons. One hour hitting air. And today I want to talk to you about your home not getting the 74 degrees. Now, it's a common thing we hear in the summertime, hey, I came home from work, my unit is working, but it's not coming down to 74. I have my thermostat, so 74, 72, 70, and it's not reaching that temperature. Well, typically the system can only do 20 degrees difference than what the heat is outside. So in this part of the state, southeastern North Carolina, we size our units, our systems. Worst case scenario, a 95 degree day. Well, if it's 95 degrees outside and you have your thermostat because your work, your thermostat is set on 78 degrees while you're at work. And then when you get home at 5,35 o', clock, six after the hottest part of the day, and then you try to pull that thermostat down to 74, 72, 70, it's going to have problems. It's going to struggle to get down that fast. Now when the sun goes down, it is going to do it a lot faster than when the sun is on the hole. So everything in the house all day long has been at 78 degrees. And now you're asking so much impossible. You're asking a thermostat to make it 74. Right now, everything in the home also has to get to 74 to get to that temperature. That's going to be a challenge. So on really hot days, try not to set your thermostat back very far from where you want it. Now, you know, energy experts or energy star, they have said, you know, see your thermostat back to this temperature and when you get home, change it because no one's home. You don't need that temperature. Well, it's easier for the unit to maintain that temperature of, you know, see, sit on 75, 76, it's better than 78. Now, it's not as, you know, bad as 74, but it's better than 78. Because when you get home from work and the kids are home and the family's home, you got people coming in and out of the house. You're only adding heat load to the house. Remember, every person in the home is 98 degrees. So the more people you have in the home, the harder it is to cool down the house because everybody is 98. And now you're cooking and now the door is opening, it's 95 degrees. Outside, it's going to have a challenge. So if your unit is not getting this 74, and it's only because when you come home, you set your thermostat, you know, from 78 to 74, and you're worried about not changing over that fast, that's normal, nothing to worry about. Now when the sun goes down and it's nighttime, it's bedtime, and now the thermostat is not coming down, you could have a challenge. Something could be going on with that system, and a professional needs to check it out, see what's going on. I would recommend maintenance twice a year, every time. But if you're having that challenge at night time as well, you need to check it out, because now we have a whole other issue going on. Because the units, you should be able to maintain or bring that temperature down when it's dark, when there's very little load in the house, everybody's in bed, nobody's opening doors, nobody's moving around, nobody's cooking, nobody's heating stuff up to eat, nobody's using the dryer. All these things, they can add heat to the home. So when no one's doing that, it should be easier, more efficient. It shouldn't take as long for it to bring the temperature down that period of the day. But it is going to be a challenge if it's the hot part of the day, to bring it down to the temperature you want. If you set it back too far.
