Something has GOT to be wrong !!! - http://www.hvacmechanic.com/ Forums
Original message
| hutchiefish
 |  "Something has GOT to be wrong !!!"
, posted Wed 23 Jul 01:08  
We are in Houston, TX - yes HOT Houston,TX. Our electric bill is over $900 consistently in the summer months. We are in a 3600 sq ft home (built in 1994) with 2 10 SEER Carrier Units.
I know lots of people around us that blast their air at 74 with similar houses in age and units, and they have $400 at the worst. I have had a couple different companies come out and they all say something COMPLETELY different. The electric company has come out and said the meter is fine. Someone mentioned having a "short" in one of the units .. Does that make ANY sense? Any insight is VERY much appreciated!!!
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Replies:
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| Cool Head
|  "Re(1):Something has GOT to be wrong !!!"
, posted Fri 25 Jul 22:05
Just today I had a very prominant millionaire lawyer call us complaining about his bill be over $1800 this month. He has six Lennox XP16 split heat pumps running in Florida. Well after quickly setting all to 68 degree's I used my RayTec to scan the supply vents. Soon I found several at 78 - 81 degree's. I check the condenser freon pressures and were normal. I knew right then that the electric heat strip had to be kicked in with call for cooling. I removed the cover to air/handler and put my amp probe on L1 and sure enough... 42 amps. including blower. Now why was this on? Well I had 25 volts at "W", "O", "Y1", "G". I went to the thermostat and popped it loose to make sure it is wired correctly. It was. Put it back together and the same thing happened. Long story short... the stat was a network connected stat and somehow the system was calling for heat at same time. Since this is not covered by our company. I unhooked the "W" wire from low voltage board. After all it is Florida and who needs 15KW backup heat here. Just kidding! I left a note for the controller folks to hook it back up when their glitch is fixed. It just goes to show you that even a millionaire has a limit to what they'll surrender to the power company.
Southern Man
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| Houston204
| "Re(1):Something has GOT to be wrong !!!" , posted Wed 23 Jul 07:34
10 SEER equipment is very inefficient. You should look in to some 16 SEER units to lower your utility bill during our 10 month summers.
I suspect that you may have dirty coils and return air leaks. When is the last time your systems were serviced?
Refrigerant leaks will also greatly increase your Reliant bill. (Reliant has cheaper competitors providing power)
"Tip of the Day" Remember to remove power first.
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| | Freon
| "Re(2):Something has GOT to be wrong !!!" , posted Wed 23 Jul 10:58
You might want to have an electrician come and measure the amperage of each unit when running. Then compare that value to the value on the metal tag. Also check wiring from main circuit breaker box to outdoor condenser. Lastly be sure the indoor and outdoor coils are clean and all ducting is tight. The equipment is 14 years old and most likely is not even at 10 SEER efficiency anymore.
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