We sold our home and are needing to rent. We live in the very hot Southwest and A/C is a must.
We found the ideal rental. size and location are perfect. Rentals are very hard to come by in our area.

We don't care about granite and all the extras just the right space, working A/C and internet.

The A/C had been set at 80 down and 83 up when we got there. There are 2 compressors outside and 2 furnaces inside. One for each floor. We set the temp down to 72 on each floor. We looked at the house for about an hour. The downstairs went from 80 to 79 and the upstairs stayed at 83.
We came back 3.5 hours later,and it had rained (rare in our area) and the downstairs went from 79 to 76 and the upstairs went from 83 to 79. It was still feeling pretty hot especially upstairs.

We live about 1 miles form this house and our A/C the same day same time, bigger house and only 1 unit , was able to keep the temp at 75 only turning on maybe 10 minutes out of every hour.

We checked and the air is not blowing hard out of the vents on either floor. The air is cool, I would not say very cold but it just is not strong. The upstairs the vents are on the ceiling and the downstairs the vents are on the floor. The upstairs has an open loft and there are vaulted ceilings. The filters were all changed. We looked in one furnace and it was a bit dusty but not dirty by any means. The other furnace was deep in the attic.

The compressors are 19 year old each. This worries me because in our area with usage and extreme heat, 15 years seems about max for units. I am renting not owning so it is not my decision. If it were just one floor I would not be as worried but both floors with 2 different units having the same low flow and not as cold at the same time? I do know they last 6 years only the first floor was lived on primarily.

I know if I rent he landlord should take care of it, but this is a tight rental market. Landlords have a line of people. Plus my husband is a repairman and he repaired something on this property a few years ago and the owner did the cheapest possible fix to limp by. Im only concerned about the A/C, my husband is handy with just about everything else. Any ideas of the issues? I would pay myself if it needed to be fixed and was under 1k. The landlord said they would have someone look at the a/c but time is ticking and we need a rental soon.

I could get another rental but it is much smaller and very far away from work and school. It is just for a year. I would hate to pass up the ideal rental if the A/c has an easy fix or an inexpensive one. Also many of the window do not open (designed that way, not suck, like custom shaped windows) so window A/C is out in most rooms.

Thanks for any advice. This sell and rent is so stressful after owning for 15 years but we had to take advantage of the sellers market for once since we will need to move in a year, so we thought it would be the best move to sell high, rent, and buy in a year or so when we move.

 

Get an accurate thermometer and stick it in an air vent. How cold is the air coming out of the vent? Then use the same thermometer and put it in the air return grate where the AC is sucking in. What is that temperature?

 

Welcome to the forums.

You changed the filters..... were the old ones VERY dirty ?
The evaporator coils could be clogged with dust. The filters are never replaced properly in rental units.
Since these are furnaces you could make sure the blowers are set to the maximum speed.
You should measure the temperature of the air entering into the system at a return near the unit and the outgoing air temp at a nearby register. You'd like to see at least a 20 degree spread.

In a hot locale.... the A/C needs to be set and kept at the required temp. The system will have an easier time maintaining a temperature instead of having to cool something that has already heated up.

If you are in a high humidity area..... the system will need to lower the humidity which can be quite slow at first.

 

I will check what people said. We have limited access to the house.
The house has not been a rental. It was lived on by an older women just the first floor for the past 6-7 years. The top floor was just used for family visiting once in awhile.

There is no humidity here. Im in the southwest desert, Las Vegas type weather.

When you say take the temp. My son has one of those yellow handheld guns, he uses it to measure heat coming out of his computer. At my house where the AC works great it is 11.8 C blowing and 24 C on the wall away from the vent. I can bring this gun with me next time I go to the house.

Im a sure the upstairs unit was not maintained well. the owner was in her 80's did not walk up the stairs and the first floor has a huge master and all the living she would need.

While I hope here is some fix, Ill eport back what i see tonight. Realistically is are 2 19 year old units that are used alot (3 months of solid 100 degree temps and 8 months of use a year) going to last much longer?

Thanks so much for all your replies.

 

I went back tonight. The landlord said they had am A/C company out and the units were working okay?? The house was cooler. They installed a new thermostat upstairs. The upstairs was 77 and the downstairs 76 but it still felt hot to me.
I test the air out of different vents. On the first floor the temp was 76 and the front two rooms barely had any air coming out, and were reading on the vents were 68 and 71. The master bedroom had readings of 63 and the kitchen was 68. The walls in almost every room was 78 and it felt 78 to me. Upstairs it actually seemed a bit cooler, even wear there were open area with very high ceilings. The air flow is slightly better upstairs with reading in all rooms in he vents of 62-64 with the walls registering 76.

My husband said he felt okay in the home. I felt hot still. I set the temp to 72 but the landlord needed to get home so I never got to see how long it would take and how 72 would feel.

My husband and kids want this house so badly. I just cant take the heat because of a medical condition.

Our current home, I stand over the air vent and my skirt would blow up and the air is 20-25 degrees cooler then the set temp. In this rental house I stand over the vent and my skirt does not move and the temp difference is on average 10-12.

the landlord will do no more so it is take it this way or move on. Temp are over 100 from May-September, and A/C is necessary starting in late March so another 6 weeks of needing A/C now and 3 months of needing A/C before we would move.

 

Apparently the systems are working as normal but may be undersized for the area they are serving.

 

So if they are undersized , will it never get cold no matter low I turn it? I guess it is weird the house is 2900 sq ft with 2 compressors and the air flow is so poor. My current house is 3300 sq ft with 1 compressor and very few vents (my master is 12x20 with 1 small vent but so much air flow the room is like ice),

My husband thought the vents were small compared to the room size. The ceilings are 10 feet some rooms are 12 feet so I guess that does no help.

 

I do know that it takes a system a long time to cool a house when it's warm or hot.
Usually after the initial cooling period the system can hold set temperature or close to it.

 

Yes, it is possible that there is not enough cooling capacity for the worst of summer. Maybe the system was adequate when installed almost 20 years ago but it has lost efficiency with age. Some ducting may have come loose or insulation around the ductwork may have fallen off. It doesn't really change the situation though. If you are considering renting you might have to accept that it is what it is unless the landlord is willing to invest a substantial amount of money. If you really want that house you could get a window AC or dual hose portable air conditioner for the bedroom so you can have that one room cool to your liking for sleeping.