Why isn’t my AC cooling as well in the Summer?

Does this situation sound familiar? You wake up in the morning to a perfectly comfortable home. You head out for a day in the standard, sweltering, Florida Summer heat. Yes, it’s one of those average 98-degree, 105+ heat index days. It’s a day that has you looking forward to returning to the cool indoors. Only when you get back inside your AC won’t cool below 80!

Your first thought is panic, that your AC has broken. But that’s not necessarily the case.

Your air conditioning is likely doing its job properly. “But how can that be? It’s not cooling like it was.” Well, your home’s HVAC system is designed to maintain temperatures that are 15-20 degrees cooler inside than outside. It’s simply not capable of lowering your home into the 60s when it’s nearly 100 degrees outside.

Why can’t your AC cool more than 20 degrees lower than outside temps?

The simple answer is math. When you home was designed, calculations are done to ensure efficiency of your heating and ventilation system. Maximum cooling season temperature and minimum heating season temperatures are used to determine the load necessary to maintain your home’s comfort. That means that during the hottest times of the year, your AC will run at its cooling limits. Whereas in the Spring and Fall, its not working as hard to maintain that same comfort level.

How do I know it’s not something else that’s wrong?

The first indicator will be when the outside temps start to dip. In Central Florida, that could mean 7 or 8 p.m. depending on how hot the day has been. If your AC doesn’t “recover” from the outside heat and start lowering your temps, there could an issue requiring service. Another sign of a potential issue would be that difference between outside temps and inside is closer to 10 degrees. At that point, we’d definitely recommend have a service tech check your system.

How do I know it’s not something else that’s wrong?

Just remember, the harder your system works the more energy it uses. It’s why monthly power bills climb during peak times. Regular service can help maintain the efficiency of your AC, find potential issues before they become problems, and keep your energy costs down.

Give our residential team a call today at (407) 477-4547 to learn more about our annual maintenance plans.