Anyone know much about air conditioning?

[Perfect Villain]

We have had our thermostat replaced twice and then been given a new AC unit outside, our electric bill is always so high we make sure to keep it set at 75 all the time yet it always seems to be running and our bill never has gone down only keeps going up.... I honestly have no idea what to do, im gonna do a test without AC for a 2 weeks and just use fans and see if our use drops any.... Anyone else have suggestions?

[Inner]

Your plan for 2 weeks (heck, even 1 week) doing without is good.

Is the AC unit "tonnage" adequate for your living space? Should be listed on the unit, 10 Ton for example. Google for more info on what's appropriate. Too small of a unit will run all the time and never, or barely, get the job done. Your saying it always seems to be running is key here! A properly sized unit won't do that.

Is the thermostat accurate? Test what the thermostat says the temperature is against a separate thermometer or something.

Is it actually cooling the house? If not, have the refrigerant levels checked.

Might be economical to pay a tech to come out and check everything regardless.

Insulation of the living space may or may not be adequate. Hard to fix that one, but it makes a large difference.

Windows without drapes exposed to the sun. Newer windows with multiple air spaces and special coatings are awesome for reducing electric bill, but will cost a lot. So, drapes or shades or something on the sun facing windows.

Air leaks. Doors especially. All should seal tightly or put that gasket/seal stuff on. A cheap upgrade and easy fix if that's an issue.

[Perfect Villain]

Well i live in a apartment, so the usage for the area should be fine.

I know before they gave us the New ac unit, it had lost about 1 lb of freon in like 20 minutes and thats why they gave us a new unit.

its cool sometimes, and sometimes it doesnt seem like it.

ill have to get a separate thermostat and test this.

Leaks shouldnt be a issue

And covering the windows i definitely dont have the spare bedroom or glass sliding door really covered so maybe i should look into that.

[The Domer]

Do you have central air or a window unit? In my last couple apartments I had window units and frankly they suck. I only ran them before i went to bed to try and cool my bedroom; otherwise I used fans.

[Perfect Villain]

i have a central...

[Boss Llama]

Is the expense isolated to the AC unit? Any symptoms that the AC is broken other than the high electric bill?

Some things that will or may help generically:

Any and all incandescent light bulbs you have should be replaced with more efficient types - those things eat power, and also are huge sources of heat, which will in turn force your AC to run more. A few years ago I replaced the four incandescent light bulbs over my bathroom vanity with CFL bulbs, and it instantly chopped 25% off my electric bill. Those four bulbs (100W each), used maybe an hour a day at most, were accounting for that much of my bill. The bulbs paid for themselves within a few months, and after that was pure savings. LED bulbs are also an option these days, and are even more efficient, but be aware of compatibility and pricing with them. Consider this reference from bulbs.com.

Do you have any appliances that are constantly drawing current? Stereos? Computers that are left on when they don't need to be? Chargers left plugged in when they aren't charging anything? These "Energy Vampires" can use up a fair amount of juice if you have a lot of them. Something like a Kill-A-Watt meter can tell you how much trickle power is being expended on things not being used.

Do you have any thermal leaks? If air can get in and out through cracks or openings around doors, windows, or structure, your thermal environment is compromised. Most of us think of this when we're trying to heat a place and we feel a cold draft, but it works the other way around too. If your AC is running and the space isn't sealed, you're paying to cool the great outdoors. Close your windows, and make sure you have decent weather stripping. If you really want to get it in to it, an IR thermometer could help you locate places with significant temperature differences, but we're trying to save you money here, and buying one of these probably isn't your first step.

[Inner]

Well i live in a apartment, so the usage for the area should be fine.

The owner has little financial incentive to get the correct sized unit since you pay the electric bill In most cases, they want the smallest/cheapest unit that will seem to work. And not being pros, the installers could have lied to them. It happens. You could still estimate the total square footage for the apts covered and see. Just saying. Also, being apts, they are probably built just "to code". That sounds great, but it's really like getting a "C" instead of an "A". You however, can't help that...the insulation and windows and stuff are what they are. You could shop for another apartment though. In Florida, electricity will usually be cheaper in a downstairs unit since the sun won't hit "your" roof.

But like Alizee said, it could be other things too. Your 2 week test should reveal that.

Best of luck!

[Pepsibottle1]

Try the two weeks and see what happens, then have the tech come back out and look at it. Could be a number of things as the others have posted.

[M's]

My cousin does HVAC and told me this info.
If the return and supply air ducts are not the correct size. That will cause the unit to run more than it should.

Too small or to large of a unit will be inefficient.

If you have 12" trunk lines for your supply, the return should be no more 14".

Alas do not block off/close vents in any room. It will cause undue pressure build up on the supply air, and will make the unit work harder.

Other issues that cause problems is dirty air filters, supply air leaks, vent locations under windows close to doors located in ceiling, blocked return air with furniture.

[M's]

our electric bill is always so high

Another issue could be your beer cooler could be running to hard. And if you have an electric food cooker it could be working improperly.

I had to replace my oven elements recently. And my bill dropped a little.

[Plinko]

mlite's given some good suggestion. Ours runs all the time because our house has shoddy/improper ductwork and so it ends up being quite inefficient. It's expensive to have it replaced, so not sure if/when we will get to it, though!

[Soltan]

I have central air (live in Phoenix) and had to replace the unit two years ago. It's like buying a decent used car in terms of cost. Naturally the old one died on a 116 degree day so I spent a couple of nights in a hotel until the new one got running.

[Perfect Villain]

Yea i got a brand new unit outside but it didnt change anything or seem to fix anything... except maybe the potential freon leak that was happening

[sgt stutter]

We have had our thermostat replaced twice and then been given a new AC unit outside, our electric bill is always so high we make sure to keep it set at 75 all the time yet it always seems to be running and our bill never has gone down only keeps going up.... I honestly have no idea what to do, im gonna do a test without AC for a 2 weeks and just use fans and see if our use drops any.... Anyone else have suggestions?

Do this, http://www.wikihow.com/Test-an-Air-Conditioner if it doesn't read a big enough differential then you either have a Freon leak or your unit is not sufficient and could be either too big or too small both can affect how the unit performs.
Your ducting could be another cause, cracks and leakage from the ducting can cause an issue with performance/efficiency as well.

My electric bill continues to go up as well, but that’s because I live in CA and SCE seems to increase rates weekly. So I went solar and for the most part have no bill except for the solar install bill which is much cheaper than our electric bill was.

[BigBiker05]

I live in Southern California and can't afford AC. It is 95f inside and my tablet been overheating all summer.

Anyways, unless you have a huge apartment with TV and computers running 24/7, your electric bill should not be that much. First I would check if the AC is running 24/7. Unless it is set at like 60f it shouldn't be running 24/7 to keep the apartment under 80f.

Now this can turn into a touchy subject. I would try the two week thing and see if it changes. There can likely be an on-going issue and the complex could be responsible to reimburse you, however, this may require an attorney or small claims fees.