PING: All you AC/HVAC experts

The AC is the most likely culprit, but don't overlook other things. A little clamp-on ammeter can help you diagnose things. For example, a friend of mine had a bill one month double his previous month's bill... turned out he had a bad dehumidifer where the humidostat went on it, causing it to run all the time.

Turn off everything in the house (that you can), and check your run-rate on your meter (hopefully, you have one of the newer meters with digital readouts, so you can get a base KW/hr number). Then, kick the CAC on, and see what it's drawing - see if that jives with the data plates on the compressor and air handlers.

As of Jan. 1st 2006 A/C units manufactured after that date must be SEER

12 or above. I had my unit replaced last spring and was able to find a SEER 10 unit to replace the existing 13 year old SEER 10 unit. Had I gone with the newer higher SEER rated units I would have also had to replace the exchanger up in the attic (I have a heat pump). That would have been a major expense including cutting a hole in the side of the house to remove and replace the exchanger along with the much higher expense of the higher rated unit. Paybacks on lower bills would have been too long for me.

Holy smokes! 3 ton in 900 sq/ft?? Are you living in a green house, all windows? I am running a 1-1/2 ton in my 900+ sq/ft ranch and it is a bit too large. House was built in '52 poor insulation. I have a 1-1/2 ton AC in the shop too, it is a tad over 900 sq/ft too, 9 foot ceilings, and it is too large too, insulated about the same as the house! I would agree with the calc on the shop, but probably would have stopped at 4 tons instead of 5 ton. Once the building is cooled down, even when you open a garage door it don't take long to cool it back down with a slightly oversized unit. Greg

That must be it!

Damn Tbone, did you read any of the other posts I made? I answered a lot the questions you asked, about SEER, about windows, about Low-E, about tints/film, window coverings.

When I posted that the post where you answered those questions was not available to me yet.

Paybacks can take a while when upgrading. However, as we have touched on previously, money is not the only consideration in upgrading to more efficient technology. The higher the SEER the more efficient the unit. That opens up many more possibilities. Like running your home on solar panels or wind generators. If this type of alternative energy is not your bag and the power plant you are using burns coal, a more efficient unit means less air AND water pollutant. Pollution is a hidden cost. You are paying for it whether you know it or not.

Craig C.

I remember back in CA where electricity is more expensive than diamonds, we were spending about $25 a month more than the average in the neighborhood, though we conserve and most there didn't...

We replaced a 5 or 6 year old "energy star" refrigerator with a slightly larger one and our electricity bill went down over $90 a month... paid for the damn frig in less than a year!

Now, we're bitching about running the AC a lot and having to pay $125 for electricity last month... almost like living in a foreign country!

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

$125.00 huh, YOU SUCK! :-)

SURE!

I personally would love to run solar, hell with all the sun we get in AZ and with the fact the rear of my house is sun ladden 80% of the day, it would be great! Anyone got about 15k I can borrow?

It isn't an 'all-or-nothing' proposition. You can start slowly and build your way up, using the grid as a battery. (During the day you are spinning the meter backwards and at night spinning it forwards. Kinda using the grid as a storage facility for your power. At the end of the month if you crammed more into the grid than you have removed ... voila! a check from from your electric company made out to you. If not, you pay the difference.)

You have to get a meter that tracks and allows and you to channel electricity back into the grid. You should be able to get that through your electric company. You will need to purchase the inverters and other equipment to start, however, you do NOT have to purchase all of your solar panels at one time, which is the largest cost.

You can add them as you get the $$ and time to install. Depending on brand name and wattage, panels plus hardware will cost you anywhere from $400 to $1000 each (110w panels).

Start with 3-4 panels. Depending on your usage, that should get you a

10%-30% drop in your bill. Add a panel or two every month and before long, the electric company is paying you.

This site is pretty good:

But ... there are hundreds of web sites. In your area of the country, I imagine you have retail outlets for solar parts.

Craig C.

Larry,

I don't know where in AZ you are, but if you are in Tucson, this company:

has some financial incentives that are being offered by TEP. At the bottom of the page you will see a link to "Hardware buy down". It appears that TEP will pick up $2k of the costs in some cases.

If you aren't in AZ, a quick search on "solar" plus the name of your electric company may reveal some free moola.

Craig C.

Craig C. wrote:

About $20 more than that per month here in Michigan.

Ken

I am in AZ, but TEP is not my power company, it is Trico. I have looked in to it with them and unless there is more then what I saw, you have to do it all or nothing.

Hmmmm....Don't they make windshield wiper blades???

Yup!

$90/month just from the fridge??? My entire electric bill is only about $200/max in the summer and $50/winter. You must live in an area with some seriously expensive electricity!!

Ok, so let me ask this, if I were to replace the current AC unit with something larger (4 ton vice 3 ton) and with a higher SEER rating, what brands would you recommend and why?