She lives in a small, simple house in southern Mississippi. It's only 1700 square feet. Why then, she wondered, were her summer electricity bills running more than $600? She didn't have anything that could be a big energy hog, like a swimming pool, and she didn't do stupid things like leave all the doors and windows open while she ran the air conditioner. What could it be? She called her electric company, one of the co-ops in Mississippi, and they sent someone out to investigate. Utility companies get calls like this all the time, and they've learned from experience what most of the main causes of high bills are. When the utility investigator arrived arrived at the house, he asked her to tell him anything she knew that might help him. "Well," she said, "the air conditioner runs all the time, but the house won't even cool down to 80 degrees." "Ah, that helps to narrow it down a bit." He went to work, and it didn't take him long to find the problem. He measured the temperature drop across the air conditioner coil and found that the air on the 'cool' side wasn't much lower than the air on the warm side.

And both were much warmer than they should be. OK, that could be a disconnected duct in the attic, he thought, like the one from a different house that you see above. A look in the attic, however, showed that wasn't the case here. Besides, a disconnected duct would increase the bill, but it almost certainly wouldn't quadruple it. His next step was to turn off the breaker to the electric resistance heat (a.k.a. strip heat) in the HVAC system. This is basically a giant toaster inside the air handler. Heat pumps use it for supplemental heat. In some homes, it's used as the primary heat source. It's not cheap, though, especially considering that the same electricity going into a heat pump will yield two or three times more heat. Anyway, the utility investigator turned off the breaker to the strip heat and watched what happened to the meter. In the summer time, turning off the strip heat should have no effect at all on how fast the meter spins because it shouldn't be running.

Strip heat is for cold weather. In this case, the meter went from spinning fast enough to saw wood to moving as slow as a horned passalus (photo at right) going for a walk in the woods. "Well, we found your problem, ma'am," he told her. floor model air conditioning units"Your heating and cooling system was doing both at the same time, making you spend a lot of money to stay uncomfortable."mini ac portable usb This problem often results from a thermostat wired incorrectly so that the system kicks on the strip heat when it shouldn't. what size wire for window ac unitSince anyone can go down to the home improvement store or the Interwebs and buy a thermostat, a good number of these problems result from DIY jobs. It seems crazy to think that someone wouldn't notice that the heat is running in their home in summer, but they don't feel heat coming out of the vents.

That heat gets mixed with the cool air from the air conditioner. They cancel each other out, both using even more energy because they're fighting each other. Got high electricity bills in summer that you don't understand? Check your strip heat. When Is 100% Efficient Not Good Enough? Sex Advice, Diet Tips, Decorating Ideas, & HVAC Design Loading depends on your connection speed! All content Copyright © 2016 Carrier Enterprise, LLC Privacy Policy • Terms of Use • Sitemap • Powered by MediagisticDometic RV Rooftop Air Conditioning Models: 457915.70X, 640312.80X, 457915.71X, 640312.83X, B57915.71X, 640312C35X, 459516.70X, 640312C85X, 459516.71X, 640315.80X, B59516.71X, 640315.83X, 540315.70X, 640315.84X, 540315.71X, 640315C35X, 540316.70X, 640315C85X, 540316.71X Question: The fan in my unit seems to always be on. Answer: The simple answer is yes. For overall best results: The blower runs continuously to circulate air and maintain an even temperature.

The compressor will come on as cooling is required to maintain the selected temperature level. Wait at least 2 minutes before restarting the compressor when it has been manually cycled off with either the selector switch or the temperature set lever. Otherwise, compressor will quick-cycle and could result in compressor or supply circuit overload. Question: My unit has the Electric Heater Option, but when it gets colder outside it doesn’t seem to maintain the temperature. Answer: The heat mode of operation will NOT replace a furnace for heating the RV in cold weather. The intent is to remove the chill on cool days or mornings. For best results when using your Electric Heater Option: Question: What should I do to make sure my filter is clean for maximum efficiency? Answer: Periodically (a minimum of every 2 weeks of operation), remove the return air filter located behind the return air grille and wash it with soap and warm water, let dry and then reinstall. NEVER run unit without return air filter in place.

This will plug the unit evaporator coil with dirt and may substantially degrade the performance of the unit over time. Question: What should I do when I notice frost forming on the cooling coil? Answer: Frost on a small portion of the coil is not unusual. Under certain conditions, ice may form on the evaporator coil. This is indicated by very cold output at very low air speed and the icing can be seen through the air inlet hole with the filter removed. Question: What steps can I take when it’s really hot outside and the A/C just can’t keep up? Answer: The ability of this air conditioner to maintain the desired inside temperature depends on the heat gain of the RV. Some preventive measures taken by the occupants of the RV can reduce the heat gain and improve the performance of the air conditioner. During extremely high outdoor temperatures, the heat gain of the vehicle may be reduced by: Operation on High Fan/Cooling mode will give optimum or maximum efficiency in high humidity or high outside temperatures.