HNFD
Don't understand why you can't just set a thermostat for the inside temp.
the problem is many...
number 1 is as I said this place was built in 1949...casement single pane windows. three doors , two with single pane slidng windows, a crawlspace underneath and an attic crawl space above...lotta drafts and gaps. These houses in the southwest from those eras were never designed for ac. it was swamp coolers and I'm damn near considering throwing some money at mine and running that this summer (i haven't run it since probably 2013 so it would need a lot of work)
number two is I do not own the place I'm a long time renter here. landlady got a new HVAC unit installed for me in febuary 2012 but it was my choice whether to get a yearly maintanence package...being skint as i am it wasn't broke so I don't fixed it

...I didn't want to pay 100 or more for a guy to come out and hook gauges up and pic his nose (remember I'm an auto mechanic so i know how some of those "maintanence things go like doing 100,000 mile maintenance ..."check the tightness of all body bolts...uh, yeah sure thing

") If it needs repair she pays but maintanence is on me. There could be air duct leaks because she had a place do a cheap roof job two years ago. Last year the copper condensation drain pipe I found cracked from when they moved it so i had to repair that with a pvc set up.
it's most likely a bit low on refridgerant or i have an air duct leak at a main point (all the registers feel the same) because this bastard will not keep up anymore in the height of the heat period (3-10 pm) once it cools down outside a bit it blows cooler air. i will say the attic gets intensley hot though. when i had roof leaks a few years back i went up a few times in august and it was a damn furnace up there so I'm sure those air ducts take some time to cool down.
I seriously think I might do the swamp cooler up though, in fact 99 percent sure I will next weekend.. it's 95 degrees outside and it's 90 inside (feels cooler though with the shades drawn and the new fan). at 4 pm it was 83 inside and then the unit kicked on and within 45 minutes it's up to 90....I might as well turn it off and save money.
even when this new HVAC unit was brand new it was still expensive to run. back then I set it at like 80 degrees 24/7 and I would have bills in the 200 dollar range from june through september(the rest of the year my bill is around 40 bucks each month). over the last few years it was set 82/.83 but there was always about a two degree swing so it would get to 87 frequently in the late afternoon. it's been years since i ran a swamp cooler ful, time but the beauty of that is you can just crank it (this one is two speed) and it will freeze you out in the dry desert until the first week of July....the bad part is floats stick, water lines clog and there's a shit ton of maintenance....but overall it's cheaper and probably more efficient in a old house in the desert.
these are the joys of living in a dry heat
