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re: AC Question - Indoor Humidity Levels
Posted on 5/30/19 at 2:22 pm to CrawDude
Posted on 5/30/19 at 2:22 pm to CrawDude
quote:
How long is your HVAC “running” between cycles? I timed mine yesterday at 23 minutes run-time at 3 to 4 pm, thermostat set at 73, outdoor temps topping out at 91-92 by mid afternoon the past several days. Single stage unit. RH in house as I type this is 48.
The best way is to measure minutes on, then minutes off before next run. This will establish your duty cycle...
Assuming yours was 23 minutes straight on and 37 minutes straight off, that would give you a duty cycle of 38%. This would also indicate your system is running at 38% of capacity.
1
Posted on 5/30/19 at 2:24 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
Have not timed them, but seems longer than I am used to in other houses. Just had a check up and the tech said other than being really old, the units were fine.
Going to list my other house soon. When it sells, I am going to replace both units.
Just be aware that long runtimes are good, short run times are bad. When you are at peak design temps, your systems should be running at least 90% of the time if not 100%.
Posted on 5/30/19 at 3:20 pm to notsince98
quote:That gives me anxiety.
When you are at peak design temps, your systems should be running at least 90% of the time if not 100%.
Posted on 5/30/19 at 3:49 pm to notsince98
quote:
The best way is to measure minutes on, then minutes off before next run. This will establish your duty cycle...
Understood. I’ll monitor over the next 24 hours.
Posted on 5/30/19 at 4:28 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
That gives me anxiety.
i know what your saying, but after educating myself on this over the past year b/c my unit is near the end of its operational life and I plan to replace my system in the next year or 2, notsince98 speaks the truth, if the system is designed properly, at peak heat loads the system should be running almost non-stop. That’s the advantage of having a quiet unit - my air handler is pretty noisy. This post was edited on 5/31/19 at 10:07 am
Posted on 5/30/19 at 8:05 pm to CrawDude
quote:What is that? I think mine are from 2001.
my unit is near the end of its operational life
Posted on 5/30/19 at 8:30 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
That gives me anxiety.
Running machines don't break down. The ones that start and stop too much do.
It is just like a car. Short trips with lots of cold starts are hard on an engine and reduce the life span. Highway miles where the engine stays warm for long periods are much easier.
Most of the wear and tear on systems happens during startup and shutdown. The less of both and the longer it will last.
You also get better energy efficiency the less starting and stopping.
Posted on 5/30/19 at 8:32 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
What is that? I think mine are from 2001.
No real standards for life expectancy but in general it used to be AC only systems were expected to last 15-20 years and heat pump systems 10-15 years.
I think they can last longer with good care and quality installation.
This post was edited on 5/30/19 at 8:34 pm
Posted on 5/30/19 at 9:12 pm to AlxTgr
quote:
What is that? I think mine are from 2001.
Everything I’ve read on HVAC websites, expect an average life expectancy of 13 - 15 years, for the AC component, 20 years for heating component (gas furnace). My first unit, condenser (outdoor unit), died (grounded compressor) at 12 years, evaporator (leakage) 2 years later. My current system is 14 years old. I feel now I’ve reached average life expectancy, and preparing/anticipating replacement. It’s an R22 refrigerant unit, and the Freon is incredibly expensive and going higher, can no longer be made in the USA at the end of this year.
If you got 18 years from your current unit, you’ve exceeded the average anticipated life expectancy and that’s great. But you also have an R22 refrigerant (Freon) system, and any significant breakdown which requires a condenser or evaporator replacement is not likely going to be worth it.
This post was edited on 5/31/19 at 10:10 am
Posted on 5/30/19 at 9:53 pm to CrawDude
Update: I purchased two different temperature and humidity gauges and placed them in different locations in my house to check my ecobee readings. Over the last 4 days I’ve monitored and determined the humidity readings on the ecobee is consistently higher. The two separate gauges are reading approx 52-55%. Where the ecobee is reading 57-62%. This seems a little closer to normal than the 60% plus readings from the ecobee.
This post was edited on 5/30/19 at 10:02 pm
Posted on 5/30/19 at 11:08 pm to TigerEye2
Glad to hear you got your AC humidity problem resolved. Quick google search indicates accuracy of humidity readings on ecobee thermostats seems to be problematic. I use a couple inexpensive temp/humidity ($10-15) meters and one of these LINK. ($50 on Amazon). All three read RH within 1 or 2% of each other.
Posted on 5/31/19 at 9:04 am to AlxTgr
quote:
should be running at least 90% of the time if not 100%.
That gives me anxiety.
Yeah no shite. Learn something new on this board every day. Growing up my dad never let our unit run more than what seemed like 15 minutes every other hour.
You touched the temp at risk of death.
Now I'm hearing.. And it makes sense.. That the unit should run for long periods of time when it's really hot outside.
All this time I thought my unit was failing because it never seems to shut off on hot days.
I guess this is why the HVAC guy laughed at me when I asked if I should install a larger unit so it would cool the house faster and run less.
This post was edited on 5/31/19 at 9:06 am
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