When is the earliest you've had to run your air conditioner?

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat climate change observers,

At least here in northern California we have been on a real weather roller coaster.  Right now (at 5pm local time) it is 61.3˚ F (16.2˚ C.)  However, yesterday's high was 82.3˚ F (27.9˚ C.)  That's for April 6th and it was forecast to be 10 degrees higher.  Normally 82˚ isn't hot enough to require the air conditioner, but this was an off-shore wind event and the temperatures simply didn't cool at the end of the day.  I decided to run the central air conditioning for about 2 hours and reduced the house temperature about 5˚.  Then I made mistake.  The outside air was finally cooling at a rate of about 5˚ an hour (thanks Stu and WeatherCat for that info.)  I figured that was fast enough to cool the house without any additional air conditioning.  The outside air didn't cool as fast as it had been doing and it was a warm and unpleasant night for all of us.

Obviously, I had to remove the cover on the condenser so we could run the air compressor.  Today I had to put it back because there is a chance of rain most of next week.  Like I said a weather roller coaster.

So how early do you guys have to run the A/C?  Using the air conditioner on April 6th is definitely a new record for around here! 

Oh well, . . . .  Edouard

[dfw_pilot]

Probably April for us, too. However, I was struck that you cover your unit for a rain forecast? We just leave ours uncovered year round.

BTW, in the spring, it's a good idea to take a garden hose and sprayer and completely hose down the compressor and all the cooling fins. As dust and dirt collects on them, it reduces the cooling efficiency of the fins. Takes five minutes, is easy, and saves you money.

dfw

[xairbusdriver]

It depends on which area of the house (upstairs or down) and the age of the residents in that area. Heat naturally rises and if that's where the young Granddaughters live, that AC gets run a lot sooner and longer than the ones downstairs where the 'old folks' live.

I've heard of covers for outside units, but with rain almost every other week around here, using them would be more akin to a physical workout plan than a hardware protection scheme. The units sold around here are made to not only handle but actually run in rain.

OT: Several decades ago, my older son taught me why condenser units should have sturdy grill work to protect those aluminum fins... Those boxes are simple not designed as backstops for soccer balls!

[Blicj11]

When we lived in Houston, we ran the A/C on many a Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. But our earliest in the year was usually April. Now we live in the mountains if Northern Utah in a log cabin and we don't even have air conditioning. We still have almost 2 feet of snow on the ground, so we haven't had to open the windows yet.

My wife says when we moved here from Houston we traded 8 months of summer for 8 months of winter, and we like it.

[Bull Winkus]

All I can say is, not yet here. If memory serves me correctly, I usually switch from heat to AC sometime in either late May or early June. The transition time is somewhat arbitrary, as I have a wide tolerance for temperature variation, and I believe it is driven more by humidity change during that time of year, than temperature change.

I too was struck by your practice of covering the compressor unit. I think you might be the first person I know of doing that. What is the intended effect? Is it covered just for the Winter season, or is there some other dynamic involved? Another question: Is it a heat pump, or an air conditioner? Mine is a heat pump, meant to be used year round. The past two Winters though, I've been relying solely on a propane room heater that carries the whole house. Right now, the nights are cool, into the 40's & 50's, and the days are in the mid sixties, unless a front upsets the daily cycle. That means a house temperature in the morning of 67? F to 72? F which will climb to ~ 74? to 81? by mid afternoon, if I refrain from knocking down the chill factor in the morning with that hammer of a propane heater. Doing so affects the outcome to be uncomfortably warm during the mid afternoon.

 

[elagache]

Dear dfw, X-Air, Blick, Herb, and WeatherCat home maintenance experts,

Of course when you normally start your air conditioner will depend how far south you are.  I'm not surprised that X-Air and folks in Houston need it almost year around.  However, even in southern California hot days in the winter are rare.

However, I was struck that you cover your unit for a rain forecast? We just leave ours uncovered year round.

BTW, in the spring, it's a good idea to take a garden hose and sprayer and completely hose down the compressor and all the cooling fins. As dust and dirt collects on them, it reduces the cooling efficiency of the fins. Takes five minutes, is easy, and saves you money.

Lucky you dfw . . . you answered your own question!    Instead of hosing the condenser coils in the spring, I hose them down at the end of summer and then I keep the assembly covered all winter long.  That way all that dust and other debris that does get blown around turning the winter time - doesn't - get into my evaporator coil!

Another question: Is it a heat pump, or an air conditioner? Mine is a heat pump, meant to be used year round.

We have a natural gas furnace so the condenser assembly is purely for the A/C.  That's why it can be safely covered for as long as you don't need air conditioning.  Since that normally spans the entire rainy season, covering the condenser assembly makes sense - this year has been the first exception.

Heat pumps should be a great idea in California.  Alas certain political and ideological forces have conspired to make the cost of electricity artificially high in the state.  Whenever possible, you are better off to use natural gas.  So most homes use a furnace and a dedicated A/C system instead.

My wife says when we moved here from Houston we traded 8 months of summer for 8 months of winter, and we like it.

I don't know if it is global warming or my growing old, but I definitely find summers harder on me than winter.  The first opportunity I can get, I'll try to head to a cooler location.  Alas, it is likely to be a while.

Thanks for your thoughts everybody!

Cheers, Edouard 

[dfw_pilot]

Hose it down in the spring prior to use, or: hose it down in the fall, then cover it, then un-cover it . . .

I take the lazy way out

[elagache]

Dear dfw and WeatherCat caregivers,

Hose it down in the spring prior to use, or: hose it down in the fall, then cover it, then un-cover it . . .

I take the lazy way out

Perhaps so, but you obviously would never end up with a 50 year car in good condition! 



The seats and carpet are new, but the door panels are original and as a 7 year old kid - I sat in the back seat!  I'm still amazed at how well we as a family managed to take care of this car! 

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Any questions about why I cover the air conditioner? 

[Steve]

We don't have our AC on yet. This was this morning...

[Blicj11]

That's my kind of spring weather, Steve. Thanks for the photo.

[elagache]

Dear Steve, Blick, and WeatherCat "ideal climate shoppers" . . . . .

We don't have our AC on yet. This was this morning...

  . . .  Hey, I've heard of chilling out, but don't overdue it! . . . . 

Cheers, Edouard 

[Bull Winkus]

Cool, Steve! Very cool. I saw the weather report on that on the Weather Channel and thought about cha. Did it melt fast enough to get out of shoveling?

 

[Steve]

Did it melt fast enough to get out of shoveling?

Nope, only got to 34? yesterday, and overcast. Deb shoveled before I got dressed for the day! Maybe some rain today, or snow. It is supposed to get into the 40s mid-week, so maybe it will melt then.

[xairbusdriver]

Deb shoveled before I got dressed for the day!

Sounds like a good way to 'wake up dead"!!