AC cannot cool below 78F

[James Kandasamy]

Hi BPers,

We have a house that was built in 1984 in Texas. The tenant claims that the AC cannot cool down below 78 F. The outside temperature was around 100 F when they claim this. The AC is running all the time. The AC man says that its common for this type of house and it only cools down to 78% of outside temperature.  The tenant claims that because the AC cannot cool below 78 F, its a safety issue for the tenant. The tenant age is in their 70s.How do i handle the tenant's complain ?

James and Shanti

[Darrell Shepherd]

The house I grew up in wouldn't cool below 78 when it got really hot, really couldn't go more than 20 degrees below the exterior.  It sucked, but we lived with it for years.  That condenser was just too small for that house when it got that hot.

If your climate gets that hot for any length of time, you probably need a bigger unit.  

You can also check the attic.  If there is poor ventilation, that thing could be a 180 degrees and radiating heat into the house.   Its possible you can get attic ventilators and more insulation and be fine.  Some HVAC guys like to staple the runs to the rafters because it looks neat and tidy, but that means you are running your cold air through the hottest part of the house.  Very possible just dropping the air ducts to the floor, blowing some insulation and putting in a power attic ventilator will get you another 10 degrees.   Depends on the house construction, of course, but those things work.