Tenant runs AC 24x7 without any break

OP

Rental Property Investor · West Des Moines, IA · Member since 2018 · 447 posts · 64 votes

5y

@JD Martin

The side effects are the gfis have been doing a disco dance these days, I have never seen that happen before, the gfis want to keep resetting on and off for some reason. The unit has been turning so hot that it seems like I can make my breakfast omelette on top the HVAC unit :-). Turning off the unit fixed the problem, I am calling an HVAC guy again tomorrow.

Joe SplitrockPro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
5y
Originally posted by @Peter Morgan:
@JD Martin
The side effects are the gfis have been doing a disco dance these days, I have never seen that happen before, the gfis want to keep resetting on and off for some reason. The unit has been turning so hot that it seems like I can make my breakfast omelette on top the HVAC unit :-). Turning off the unit fixed the problem, I am calling an HVAC guy again tomorrow.

The GFCI tripping is some type of grounding issue. It could be related to the AC unit, but a properly functioning AC unit should be able to run 24/7 and never cause any GFCI issues. The hotness on top of the AC unit is where the motor is located on the fan. I would have the technician check the capacitor to ensure it is regulating voltage properly. If you have not done so, use a garden hose to spray out the condenser coils/fins. As others suggested, have the HVAC tech check the coolant levels. I would also make sure the tenant is changing the air filter monthly. Some filters recommend every three months, but that doesn't apply if you are running 24/7. Check to make sure all the air intake and exhaust vents are open inside the house and not obstructed.
A properly sized and functioning AC unit would not run 24/7 unless it was extremely hot outside. An AC unit is designed to maintain about 20 degrees delta from outside temperature. That means if it is 99 degrees outside, the AC unit should maintain 79 inside.
In my experience tenants have an unreasonable understanding of how AC works. They falsely believe you can just dial it down to any temperature and bam, it will be that temperature a few minutes later. In extreme heat it could take hours to cool down a house. The US Department of Energy recommends setting thermostat to 78F, so if your tenant is trying to cool to ridiculously low levels, they are stressing the AC system.
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Colleen F.Pro Member

Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5y

@Peter Morgan what is he setting it at? There could be other issues but if he is setting the temperature really low you might change the thermostat to one with a lower limit.

OP

Rental Property Investor · West Des Moines, IA · Member since 2018 · 447 posts · 64 votes

5y

@Joe Splitrock

Thanks you! and yes indeed they have been stressing the AC system, they just set the AC thermostat to 67 soon after they moved in and never bothered to change it to a higher number or turn the AC off as they are home 24x7 thanks to the remote work opportunity due to the pandemic.

Joe SplitrockPro Member
Moderator
Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
5y
Originally posted by @Peter Morgan:
@Joe Splitrock
Thanks you! and yes indeed they have been stressing the AC system, they just set the AC thermostat to 67 soon after they moved in and never bothered to change it to a higher number or turn the AC off as they are home 24x7 thanks to the remote work opportunity due to the pandemic.

I would communicate to them that 67F is too low. As I mentioned, the DOE recommends 78F for best energy efficiency and system performance. Even something like 74F would be low. Anything under 70F is pretty ridiculous.
1 Reply

Scott M.

Real Estate Broker · Rochester Hills, MI · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

Older unit, just spent 1,500 on it but it doesn't' seem to be working right. Running 24/7 yet it is going to be winter in 3-4 weeks also doesn't make sense. Can't imagine where this home is lol. The house not cooling enough to shut it off here and there means there is something wrong with the AC unit itself. If the home 2 stories and the tenant has an office on the 2nd floor? That is the situation with me personally and my office just doesn't cool. If I had to rely on the central AC unit to cool my office frankly, it would never cool in the summer. It is generally 10-15 degrees hotter then other rooms. My office is the one that is furthers from the furnace as well.

That is why I have a an AC unit in my office. Central air can cool the rest of the house down just fine and run normal and I have a windowless unit. Although it vents out the window so not sure why they call it that. A portable AC unit. So could also be an issue with the furnace just not being able to cool all the rooms in the home.

Craig Janet

Member since 2019 · 223 posts · 261 votes

5y

I live in Louisiana and if you set your thermostat to 67 your unit will have to run 24/7. What is the actual temp inside the home? If it gets down to 68 degrees you know your system is running fine.

OP

Rental Property Investor · West Des Moines, IA · Member since 2018 · 447 posts · 64 votes

5y

@Craig Janet

The thermostat is old and I am not sure if its showing the right temperature but it felt very chilly when I visited their apartment.

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Wale LawalBusiness Member

Real Estate Broker · Houston | Dallas | Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

It seems like your HVAC unit may not be working properly. I would be planning ahead as you may need a replacement soon.

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Craig Janet

Member since 2019 · 223 posts · 261 votes

5y

Bring a thermometer and check the temp. If it's under 70. Sounds like they like it really cold and the AC is working. I'm not sure what you can do about it. I hope your not paying the electricity. I have a friend that keeps this thermostat at 65, it never shuts off and it's freezing in his house.

Daniel SmythPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Rockford, IL · Member since 2019 · 471 posts · 342 votes

5y

Your A/C unit is a machine designed to run continuously. To continuously have your property moisture stable, is a good thing.

Your A/C will last longer with less use, but this does not mean it needs to rest.

As stated already, if your unit never shuts off, the issue is less with your tenant and more with settings or the envelope of your house. If the unit is so old that it cannot keep up, a change is due.

Cost of your unit will be what it will be. Seems to me like you figure everything is great as long as the fan runs and the unit doesn't blow smoke. A way to save money might be to buy a unit from someone that has too many older models. While you are at it, get those ducts cleaned and get a blower door test done.

The blower door test measures how much air escapes from the leaks in your home.

If your tenant pays on time and helps you make ends meet, you could do worse by changing the unit so he can realize your good business sense this summer season!

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Linda S.

Investor · Richmond, VA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes

5y

@Peter Morgan,

If I were in your shoes, I'd drop off a cheap window unit, if they have a home office, suggest they use this, close the door and keep the bigger unit at say 72-74-- explain that if the system is always stressed, it will cost them a lot more in electricity.

Eric GoldmanBusiness Member

Lender · PA · Member since 2019 · 357 posts · 190 votes

5y

are you paying electric or is the tenant responsible?

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OP

Rental Property Investor · West Des Moines, IA · Member since 2018 · 447 posts · 64 votes

5y

@Eric Goldman

Fortunately I made sure the tenant pays for it.

Eric GoldmanBusiness Member
Lender · PA · Member since 2019 · 357 posts · 190 votes
5y
Originally posted by @Peter Morgan:
@Eric Goldman
Fortunately I made sure the tenant pays for it.

Things age and need maintenance and repair or replacement. Perks of owning rentals. the tenant does not care about that stuff. they rent so they don't have to worry... as long as it is working. You will hear asap when it is not!!
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2 Reply

OP

Rental Property Investor · West Des Moines, IA · Member since 2018 · 447 posts · 64 votes

5y

@Daniel Smyth

Thank you this was very helpful.I need to move out of state soon due to my job. I was torn and still torn whether to sell or rent my owner occupied multifamily and ended up renting recently with a half year lease, I think I will most likely sell within next six months and just trying to make sure the systems are all stable and plan to hold off until next summer

to install any new HVAC.

Scott Mac

Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Peter Morgan:

Hi,

I have an older HVAC unit , I think it has reached almost its end of life, I recently spent over $1500 to service and repair it. I have a new tenant that runs the AC like there is no tomorrow 24x7 without any breaks understandably so as he works from home.

The AC has aged so much so that it seems like it may not be able to handle such high usage as I have been observing some undesirable side effects on my electrical system which was not observed with my previous tenant who was a light user. I will most probably replace next year but since we are only 3 to 4 weeks away from winter it's not worth either replacing with a new ac or spend another hundreds of dollars to repair , did anyone across a similar situation? I am just trying to optimize the life of the ac by trying to give ample breaks.

Appreciate your inputs

Thanks

Hi Peter,

What are the "Undesirable" effects on your electrical system you are observing (???)

Running the HVAC 24/7--365 should have no effects on the electrical system at all.

I run mine 24/7 Ice Cold with no problem.

Bruce WoodruffPro Member

Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes

5y

Originally posted by @Peter Morgan:

@JD Martin

The side effects are the gfis have been doing a disco dance these days, I have never seen that happen before, the gfis want to keep resetting on and off for some reason.

I don't know why your GFCI's would have anything to do with your HVAC system. There should not be a motor on a GFCI circuit because the starting amp draw will trip the GFCI a lot.....

And I too would get a new T-Stat with a lower temp limit.....it's just silly to run it all the time. If/when you get a new unit, it will shorten the life considerably.....even though, yes they can run continuously like in commercial buildings...but why buy a new unit more often...?

Scott Mac

Austin, TX · Member since 2019 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes

5y

Ground Fault Interrupters have a service life. Some of them as short as 5 years.

A wise move might be to talk to an electrician about things like that.

Jim K.

Handyman · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2018 · 5k+ posts · 13k+ votes

5y

There's a lot of advice being handed out here, some better, some not so good. Let's re-establish some reality plotlines in the haze here. No A/C is going to do well running 24 hours a day. Winter is not 3/4 weeks away, but the end of summer is indeed on its way. The OP lives in an owner-occupied small multifamily in Iowa, probably a duplex. 67 degrees is a ridiculously low temperature to set an A/C at in Iowa. There have been a few dozen discussions here in the BP forums about babying along aging central A/C systems that I've seen. It doesn't work out fot the best, usually, both in these discussions but also in my experience.

A modern 5000 BTU window unit reliably costs $150 nowadays. A lot of people feel these are out of place in their hoity-toity rentals. I am 'umble, always 'umble, and therefore not one of these people. In a pinch, loaning a tenant a window unit or two is a lovely alternative to shelling out the big bucks to fix or replace a central A/C system in high summer as the HVAC techs, aka "the last of the buccaneers," cash in on global warming heat waves. In this case, with the tenant working from home in a home office, as I do, a window unit appears to be an ideal short-term solution here, cheaper for the tenant, cheaper for you.

On a side note, this is why you don't skimp on the argon fills and e-coating on windows when you replace them in rentals. While the tenant is paying for utilities, you'll be paying for the decreased MTBF -- mean time between failures -- when the A/C or the furnace or the boiler breaks down over the life of the rental. Ditto for weatherstripping and insulation.

7 Reply

Ryan Sports

Denver · Member since 2020 · 21 posts · 4 votes

5y

@Peter Morgan

if you can get a 20 degree split from the ambient temp outside, consider the system running as it should. Here in South Jersey we have it in the mid to high 90’s regularly and get calls complaining that their system isn’t cooling properly, though everything is fine.

talk to your HVAC tech about programming the thermostats lowest setting. He can raise it so the tenants don’t crank it down to 60. but instead 70,72 etc.

another issue could be the unit is low on refrigerant. this can happen overtime, even if it’s a few ounces over 20 years or all of it in a week.

coils can ice up restricting airflow, though the air is cold, so the tenant may think operation is normal.

if the condenser is matted up with dirt and gunk, this will also effect cooling

make sure to use fiberglass filters, and have the tenants change them once a month.

hope this helps, don’t hesitate to connect with more questions!

Maurice Smith

Member since 2018 · 211 posts · 164 votes

5y

time to change your lease guidelines then

Dennis Yosco

Rental Property Investor · Bloomfield, NJ · Member since 2020 · 138 posts · 128 votes

5y

@Peter Morgan

Is the fan running 24/7 or is the condenser running 24/7. If it’s the fan inside the house it’s no big deal. They can run for a lifetime constantly on. The start and stop actually makes it worse.

If the condenser outside is on 24/7 then there is an issue.

Instead of stressing over what they are doing, just buy a new unit. You know it’s old. Just bite the bullet and get one ordered.

Seth Borman

Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2016 · 553 posts · 314 votes

5y

Modern high end units are actually designed to run 100% of the time. That's not a big deal.

They might have it set to 67° to try to get the (almost certainly oversized) unit to dehumidify the house.

Go to YouTube, look up Nate Adams BAD *** HVAC or the Home Comfort Book, do some homework, and ask some questions.

David GoodmanBusiness Member

Realtor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2020 · 172 posts · 92 votes

5y

@Peter Morgan

Is the AC on 24/7 or does he just run the fan on ON 24/7.

I had a tenant do that, and it bothered me until my HVAC guy told me that it was actually easier on the unit… go figure 🤷‍♂️

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