How To

Air Conditioner Not Keeping up with the Heat Wave?

Home Rental Services's avatarPosted by

We’ve all been struggling through 90-100+ degree temperatures this summer. As a result, one of the questions that we hear is, “Why can’t my air conditioner keep the temperature cooled to where I set the thermostat?”

Your air conditioner will be able to cool to about 15-25 degrees from the outside temperature.

Often, people set their thermostat in the 70-75 degree range in the summer for comfort. As a rule of thumb, when it’s 95 degrees outside, your AC can cool your house to around 70-80 degrees.

If it is 100 degrees outside and you have an efficient and powerful air conditioning unit, you would probably see the lowest temperature at 75 degrees, no matter how low you set the thermostat.
(100 degrees minus 25 degrees of cooling = 75 degrees)

While it seems abnormal for your house to be 77 degrees when it’s set for 71 degrees, the consistent, long lasting high temperatures outside are also not normal.

Even though there is nothing you can do to control the outside temperature, there are several things you can do to prevent the hot air from getting into your home. These efforts can extend the amount of time it takes your home to warm up in the morning, which allows your AC unit to fight the heat wave longer throughout the day before you notice the temperature is above where you have your thermostat set.

7 Heat Wave Fighting Efforts That Work

  • Keep your blinds closed during the day. If you have rooms you rarely use, you might even consider installing sun blocking curtains. You can find options on Amazon.com that are reasonably priced.
  • Wait until it’s cooler outside to do laundry or run the dishwasher. You can also focus on doing these things in the evening when it is cooler outside.
  • When you are cooking food, consider grilling outside instead of turning on the stove or oven. Especially on really hot days. You may be surprised how much a difference this makes.
  • If the forecast for a week is multiple days of really hot temperatures, consider setting your thermostat higher so your AC unit gets a break.
  • Make sure you have changed the air filter in your AC. If it is clogged and dirty, the system has to work even harder to force cool air through your home.
  • Make sure your outdoor compressor is clean and that there are no shrubs or grasses impeding air flow to the unit.
  • Don’t close off too many vents in your house. Your air conditioning system needs to push air evenly throughout your home without too much pressure.

We hope that you are staying comfortable in this heat… and we hope that this public service announcement is helpful if you need to make some changes in your home to fight the heat!