Derek ColeGM, Simmons One Hour Heating & Air · AI HVAC Answers

New AC and higher power bill

13 Aug 2015 · 0 min

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In this short Q&A, a homeowner (Speaker A) reports that after installing a new air‑conditioning unit, their electricity bill has risen and the system isn’t keeping up with cooling demand. Derek Cole advises several steps: first, contact the installation company to verify the unit was installed correctly; second, consider recent hotter weather and any changes in thermostat settings that might increase usage; third, be aware of the “rebound effect,” where perceived higher efficiency can lead users to lower thermostat set‑points and thus consume more energy; fourth, inspect the existing ductwork—often decades old—and seal any leaks, especially when pairing an high‑SEER, two‑speed unit with aging ducts. He also points the homeowner to online resources on duct sealing and insulation. The overall message is to check the installation, evaluate user habits, and address duct integrity to resolve the higher power bill.

I have a new AC unit but now have a higher power bill and my unit is not keeping up with the demand.
One, call the company that installed the unit and have them go back and check it to make sure everything is right because it sounds like something is wrong. Your power bill should not be going up because you installed a new system. Now, it has been hotter than usual lately, so that could be a reason why. Um, actually, it is said that, and it's proven, I think there's even tests on it, the more energy efficient you think you are, the more energy you actually use. Uh, that's kind of backwards, but if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. So if I think I'm really efficient, maybe I'm going to bump my thermostat down to 73 instead of 75. Hey, I just bought this brand new unit, it's a blah blah blah seer, uh, I can No problem. You see, you start using more power because you're more efficient. So that could be one issue too. Make sure your habits aren't really changing. But yeah, your duct system needs to be checked. The new unit needs to be checked. The problem we have run into on previous installs is that maybe the duct system has been there 30 years and now you're installing an 18 SEER, 2-speed mama jama unit. And it really starts to expose the oldness of the duct system with air leaks like we just talked about. So check all that, get your duct checked out, seal it if possible. Also, when you go to LinkedIn to look at the insulate air leaks article, there's also one there on duct sealing. So you might want to check that.
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