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jchmom · Jul 15, 2009, 10:54 AM

Our house is 6 months old (3400 sq. ft.) and has the latest in eco effiency, we live in VA. We use PROPANE cooktop, clothes dryer, and hotwater system. When the hot weather came our electric bill almost doubled. People with older homes and more sq. ft. saided their electric bills were almost a 3rd less than ours.

The air condition is geothermal (2 zones) and the units run for 10-15 minutes. Turns off and comes back on in 6 minutes. We have the theromstat set 68 at night and 74 during the day. Can anyone tell us what we or this unit is doing wrong?

Thanks

P.S. - we now wonder if the winter bills were also out of proportion, with the energy efficient home that we have build.

siberianair · Jul 15, 2009, 12:24 PM

Everyone has their own opinions on geothermal units. Some think they are great and conserve energy. Others think they are expensive pieces of tin. I would have the company that installed it come out and look at it. Being the unit/ house is 6 months old it should still be under warranty. Could be something simple like zoning system/ tstsat set up wrong. Or it could be a bigger issue.

hvac1000 · Jul 15, 2009, 03:17 PM

The air condition is geothermal (2 zones) and the units run for 10-15 mins. turns off and comes back on in 6 mins. We have the theromstat set 68 at night and 74 during the day. Can anyone tell us what we or this unit is doing wrong?

68 degrees is mighty low to temperature. If the system is running correctly with proper moisture removal it should be comfortable at 76-78 degrees. You are using a lot of electric to bring that 3400 sq ft down to that low of temperature.

jchmom · Jul 16, 2009, 05:39 AM

We sleep much better at night when it is cool. During the day the outside temps reach 85-90 and the house gets stuffy set at 74 or higher (VA is very humid). I have the fan running 24 hours to circulate the air to clean. I have asthma and there is a air cleaning system hooked into our heat/air unit.

hvac1000 · Jul 16, 2009, 08:56 AM

Well set the temperature higher and go out and buy a dehumidifier to get rid of the excess moisture. I am not a doctor and do not pretend to be but in my HVAC experience people who sleep better when it's that cold usually have COPD. Usually smoking or previous lung damage is the cause. The colder temps are not what makes you sleep better it is the lower humidity which helps the lungs to rid themselves of excess fluid. As you breathe you draw in cool air that contains less moisture and this helps to prevent the dreaded night coughing caused by being in a horizontal position.

It very well could be that is not the case but I would question your doctor on your next visit about that possibility. As far as your energy usage running at low temps along with the short cooling cycles your system is producing indicates you're a/C system might be oversized. A properly sized A/C system runs more than 15 minutes at a time at 90 degrees outside temps. Short run times do not allow the system to remove the moisture properly and that is the reason you feel it is stuffy. It all seems to fit your situation.