I'm a brand new home owner after purchasing a condo in Alexandria, VA, and I'm already enjoying the responsibility of dealing with home ownership issues. :rolleyes:

Here's the issue. The condos were built in 1974 and are definitely beginning to show their age. Each building shares an HVAC system that is switched between heating and cooling each year in the Spring and Autumn.

Each condo unit has a type of condenser which holds the heating/cooling source for the unit. Since purchasing the condo in May, the temperature has increased outside, and we've noticed that the current air conditioning in our unit does not keep our unit cool during the heat of the day. We can feel cool air flowing out of the vents, but it's not coming out with nearly enough force to overcome increasing temperatures outside.

Our first "fix-it" attempt was to replace the air filter, which helped the air flow some, but hasn't assisted in keeping the unit cool.

We'd planning on replacing the thermostat (which is currently a basic, older model), but we're unsure how a thermostat will work with the individual cooling/heating condensers in the condo unit. The information I've found on-line says to check the thermostat's compatibility with a home's HVAC system. However, we don't really have the HVAC system in our unit.

Would the heating/cooling condenser in our unit impact the type of thermostat we get and will it have an impact on improving the temperature in the unit? Any help would be VERY appreciated.

Thanks,

Ted

Ted, there are many issues that could cause your condo to not fully cool so don't replace the stat just yet. Since the home is 33 years old there likely has been one or two replacements done on your system and you could be in line for number 3. Have a local HVAC contrator evaluate your system, you could be low or freon or something more significant. The stat is lower on the list.

Check your building codes and health department. Around here tennants haven't been able to share their air for at least 35 years. If your neighbor gets TB or other illness so can you.