Why Isn’t My AC Reaching the Number on the Thermostat?
Every summer, Virginia Beach cranks up the heat to above 90 degrees on average. While a few brave souls endure the scorching heat, most of us retreat into offices and homes and the safety of our air conditioners. But what do you do when your air conditioner just can’t seem to reach the temperature you set on your thermostat?
This happens every year. The heat rises. Our customers panic. We get lots of concerned phone calls and emails. Nearly every one of them wants one question answered: Why is the temperature in my house higher than the temperature on my thermostat?
In short, the answer is don’t panic! Your A/C is designed to keep your house around 75 degrees on days that are 95 degrees and up. If you’re trying to get your house to 65 and it’s not working, don’t worry. You don’t need to get a repairman out right away necessarily. Despite how much these amazing machines can do, they do have limitations in extreme heat.
There are steps you can take make it easier for your AC to cool your house, but in general, seeing your AC “struggle” to reach your desired temperature is to be expected at these temperatures.
The Professional Explanation
To give you an example, here’s a message from our General Manager, Jeff Marl to a concerned customer:
“It was 102 on the thermometer on my shed porch earlier today. It’s 97 in my backyard right now. My house is maintaining 74 downstairs and 76 upstairs which is incredible for a day like this. The design of AC units is to maintain 75 when it’s 95 outside. The fact that you have areas maintaining 71 (instead of 65) tells me it is working perfectly.
I can arrange a service call, but I believe your system is operating correctly. It just has some limitations on particularly hot days. Because it’s not this hot normally, people can forget that. I truly believe your system is working very well based on your numbers. We had several calls today from people whose homes were up into the high 75-80 range, but the A/C was doing the best it could. As the temperature drops below 90 you indoor temps should fall but normally I tell customers not to expect more than a one-degree fall per hour.”
To which the customer replied:
“Jeff, thanks for the info. I felt much better once I read your explanation. I think there needs to be something like that on the website to explain if people are seeing their temps higher than set not to freak out but to realize this is normal. It evened out overnight when the temps went down. Good job!” (So here you go!)
Conclusion
We hope this helps alleviate your concerns, but if you think there may be an actual problem, please contact us and we can help answer any questions you may have!
