upgrade AC unit or clean old A coil

[rdavy]

I just had an AC repairman over to do some work on our unit. He says that the A coil is dirty and needs cleaning. I wholeheartedly agree. He also said that our 2 ton unit is too small for our MH - 14X60 2001 Clayton, as well as the 10 KW heating coils being too small. The air conditioner was installed in late 2002 and we were told that it was new. The air conditioner has never worked properly in the living room / kitchen area. We live in southwest Texas where we typically have 100 degree summer days. We have no shade whatsoever The temperature set at 78 on the thermostat and the temperature on our hottest afternoons goes up to 84 or 85 in the living room with the AC running continously. My electric bill runs about $290 to $325 a month. The three bedrooms are about 78 degrees, no complaints at all there. I've tried lowering the thermostat to 74 hoping to get the house cooler earlier and maybe it would stay cool - no good. Can someone give me a straight answer on the capabilities of the two ton unit or whether we should upgrade to something a little larger?

[hvac1000]

You have 840 square feet of space in your unit. A 2 ton/24,000 BTU unit should cover that space but you could always go to a 2 and 1/2 ton/30,000 BTU unit for extra cooling.

Your unit may not be working up to its maximum efficiency because of dirty outdoor coil or dirty indoor coil.
The unit may not be correctly charged with refrigerant. You can take a 2 ton unit without the proper charge and turn it into a 1 and a 1/2 or one ton unit . The refrigerant charge is critical and the unit should not be charged or checked for proper charging until it is clean so the pressures can be set accurately.

A dirty A/C unit can and will have an effect on your electric bill

A larger A/C unit will cost more to operate than a smaller one.

A unit that is to large will also cause the air in the home to be cold and clammy. This is because the first job a A/C unit does is remove the moisture out of the air. If the unit is to big the air will get cold and the unit will turn off before it has a chance to pull the moisture out. To big of a unit is something you do not want to do.

Since I do not live in your area I can only guess as to what size you should have for your home but a qualified A/C company can be of assistance with this issue.

Always get two or more bids for new equipment if you decide to replace it.