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Posted by on February 15, 2007, 11:01 am
>My daughter had a central air-conditioning installed about six years
>ago. It has performed fine until now. Two problems have surfaced which
>have caused concern. One involves how much electricity the system is
>consuming - even when it is not in operation, and the other involves a
>leak of water that has permeated the bathroom wall in her master
>bathroom on the second floor of her two story home. These two problems
>may or may not be related.
>
>Electric consumption. My daughter's electric bill has for some unknown
>time (possibly dating back to when the AC system was installed) been
>about twice that of her neighbors who have similar homes. This
>recently prompted her to do a breaker test which revealed that the
>breaker dedicated to the AC, when turned off, significantly slowed the
>rotation of the electric meter disk EVEN THOUGH THE AC SYSTEM WAS NOT
>TURNED ON. This seems to indicate that even when the AC system is
>turned off it is drawing significant electricity!
>
>Water leak. It has been discovered that a device in the attic that I
>will call a condensation device has a defect in the way it is attached
>to some sort of piping or ductwork such that water has leaked down
>inside her master bathroom wall and over time created a widespread
>mold problem.
>
>My daughter called a plumber thinking it was a plumbing problem. The
>plumber said that the leak was related to her AC system so she called
>the AC vendor/installer. His response was disappointing. He asked why
>the plumber just didn't fix the leak. Finally he did send a serviceman
>who found a problem with how the condensation device wa attached to
>the pipe/ductwork. He applied silicon as a temporary measure but said
>that a more permanent correction was needed. I'm not sure if he said
>there was a defective installation insofar as the condensation device
>is concerned. My daughter seems to be faced with having to rip out the
>sheetrock to correct the mold situation. She has no idea what the
>warranty is on the AC system and is not confident that the vendor/
>installer will correct the problem without cost to her.
>
>Can anyone here address either problem and help us figure out what is
>going on?
>
>Should she call in some sort of independent professional to evaluate
>the situation? What type of professional should she seek?
>
>Sorry if my description os the problem is a bit weak. I hope that
>those of you who are HVAC professionals will be able to figure out
>from this meager description just what the problem(s) may be.
>
>Thanks.
first & foremost, you want documentation. Lots of it. Digital
pictures really help. Lots of them. Documentation on the electrical
issues, as well as the mold issues. Armed with such overwhelming
documentation, you might be able to persuade the installing contractor
to face up to his liabilities.
You might also employ another ac company to act strictly as
investigators. Tell them upfront you want a complete, non-biased
report on the installation, and make it clear they will not be part of
any remedial action. Investigation & report only, and they may be
called in as expert witnesses if the case goes to litigation.
Last, it will be really benefitial if you can produce documentation
that the system has been maintained. Personally I would not allow any
repairs to be made by anyone other than the installing company, up to
the point of litigation. Typically we void any warranties if systems
are serviced by other ac companies, as we have no control over the
quality of their work
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