Should I accommodate an air conditioner

Question

I just bought a duplex rental property in Albany, NY.  It is an older house - early 1900's.  The previous owners had a PM company managing the house, but nothing was ever updated and any repairs were just a band-aid.

I inherited tenants downstairs.  An older couple with a son in college.  They keep the place clean and pay the rent on time.  I just renovated the bathroom because it was terribly outdated with cracked tiles and water leaking into the basement and I am planning on re-building the porch because it is a potential safety hazard.  I also renovate the upstairs apartment with a new kitchen, paint and refinished hardwood floors to make ready as a rental.

The son sent me a text the other day and said that when he turns on his air conditioner, the electricity goes out in the kitchen.  My question is:

Would you upgrade the electric to accommodate an air conditioner?

My first thought is to have an electrician go and take a look.  If it is a simple repair then I don't see a problem, but if the electrician tells me that it needs to be upgraded, my thought is what did they do the previous years before I bought the house.  The current electrical panel is 120/240 volt service with a 100 amp panel for each unit.  The home inspection report states that this is sufficient for each unit.

What would you do?

James DeRoest · Answer

Ok, the electrician you send will say "whole house needs to be rewired". This is standard practice, sale by scare.

A few years ago, the only property we've had with window units had something similar. The electrician simply ran a dedicated 20a line from the breaker box to each of the bedrooms and the living room. That way each unit had its own power and didn't trip the rings in each of the rooms.

The way your previous tenant may have got round this problem was turning off anything running in the kitchen when the AC was on. The AC should only pull 1500-1800w, which is about 90% of the available power on the circuit. When they turn the toaster on (1500w) things trip out. So the previous tenant may only have run one thing at a time and never reported the problem.

Kyle Hipp · Answer

Having adequate electrical service is a more than reasonable expectation in my opinion. Electric use is not going to decrease in the future so I see no reason to delay making the required improvements.

Missy H. · Answer

@Michael B.@Justin Tahilramani

Thank you ALL for your helpful advice and comments.  In the end, I did call an electrician who was recommended to me from a contractor.  He suggested that I change out all of the electrical outlets that were old and painted over throughout the years.  Once I did this, all electrical issues were solved.

Lesson learned......explore all options and resources.

Justin Tahilramani · Answer

@Missy H.- You don't talk about how large each duplex is. Additionally, it would help to know if the water heater and dryer is gas or electric. If the entire unit is running off 100 amp electric - that's probably the problem. There's is a reason that newer homes typically come with 200 amp service. Todays electronics simply draw a lot more power.

I'm not an electrician - but I would certainly be prepared for an electrician to say "the entire house needs to be rewired." After all - the house is well over 100 years old. Its not a power play or a scare tactic. Major mechanicals need to be updated occasionally. Nobody on BP can say that having them run a dedicated 20 amp circuit will work. Do you have the capacity to run a dedicated circuit? If not - your panel may need to be changed out. If your panel needs to be changed - it's probably going to involve permits. If you pull permits - the city will likely require you to bring everything to code.....

Missy H. · Answer

Thomas S.

Good advice.  I will tell them to wait until I can go up to look at it.  I can't imagine that this is an all of a sudden problem, they must have experienced this in the past.

However, if it is an easy fix, maybe running another line, I will consider it.  Don't want them to think that I am at their beck and call for every little thing.

Thanks for the words of wisdom.

Account Closed · Answer

Your words are quite helpful. I'm also thinking to build a porch.

Account Closed · Answer

House area also comes in consideration when planning to buy a air conditioner, and an HVAC system. The right decision came after advises from the technicians and users.

Michael B. · Answer

I woudent worry about the 100 amp service per unit being the problem.  My personal residence is a 1500 sq foot 1950's home and I recently had the original fuse box switched to breakers.  Each electrician I got a quote from said I could retain the 100 amp service I had and be fine.  I would also just get a dedicated line for the a/c and that would solve the problem.

Amy E. · Answer

Do you have a contractor you trust?  I asked for referrals until I found some great contractors....my electrical will tell me what he can do to make it safe, what has to be done to make it legal, and what he would do to his own house (and very rarely do these three things mesh).  A 100 amp panel sounds small for a duplex, but it really depends on the load being pulled and could be just fine.

I tend to do my own home inspections before buying a property, but I do not mess around with electricity.  It can appear to work just great and be completely unsafe.

The real question is, do you want to leave the panel the way it is and have the tenant use an A/C anyway.  If so, make SURE that the home is wired properly to be safe when they overload the circuit.

If it were me, I would accommodate it, but I live in GA and am biased when it comes to A/C.

Should I accommodate an air conditioner

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