Hey everyone! I want to thank you in advance for your help by sharing your knowledge, wisdom, and advice with me. I also apologize in advance for my ignorance when it comes to HVAC.
Approximately 18 months ago we had purchased an older home built in 1952 that is 2,869 sq ft heated. We are located in South Georgia. We remodeled the home, and during the remodel we had the old unit replaced with a brand new 5 ton Rheem air handler and outside unit installed by a local HVAC/Rheem dealer.
When we had the old unit we noticed it would run and never shut off, and the house would never cool down past 76-77 on hot days when the temperature is above 90+. We had the new unit installed and it still runs 12-14 hours a day when the temperature hits 90+ outside. As soon as night time hits, or the temperature falls back down to the 80s the unit is able to cool the house down to 72-73 degrees. On cooler days, especially during the fall, it doesn't run anywhere near the amount it does in the summer.
I was ignorant and thought maybe our unit was undersized by 1-2 tons especially due to the fact our house still has the original wooden single pane windows, and the house has 34 windows on it. The back of the home faces east, and the front of the home faces west. I did have insulation added to the attic last summer to see it would help. We didn't really see a difference in comfort or run time of unit.
I had a different contractor come out yesterday to give a quote on possibly adding a mini split to help supplement the main unit. I was thinking this would help solve the problem of run time and overall comfort of the house.
Long story short, he went to the closet where the air handler is located and said that my problem was not that I needed a mini split to help supplement the main system at this moment, but he said the installation of the new unit was not done correctly.
He showed me where the air handler is not sealed correctly, and the attic air is pouring into the closet with the air handler. If I understood him correctly, he explained that the air handler is receiving the hot air in addition to what comes through the return thereby making the system have to work harder and never able to cool house down efficiently.
It seems to make sense to me, but I wanted to see what your opinion was.
I did reach out to the original contractor who installed the system, and explained my findings and he is coming on Friday to take a look. He said if he finds the installation was done incorrectly he "will make it right."
Please see attached photos for reference.
My questions are:
1) Does this finding seem correct as to why my system runs 12-14 hours on hot days?
2) If this was not installed correctly, what should I be on the look out for? Any specific things I should look for to make sure it is sealed correctly?
Again I apologize for the long post, and for my ignorance.
Thank you again for your help.
