I have a portable air conditioner in my bedroom set to 68 degrees. On cooler days it brings the room down to 68 and the compressor shuts off and it runs in fan only mode. Once the temp in the room goes back up, the compressor comes back on and gets the room back to 68 and shuts off and goes to fan only mode again.
When it is 100 degrees out it is unable to cool to 68. The compressor runs and runs and doesn't seem to cycle on and off. It is able to keep the room at 72 which is fine. I assume this is okay as it has been working great. But I thought the compressor had to take a break and cycle on and off to let coils evaporate or something? Is this normal for a portable AC unit compressor to never cycle on hot days?
Best Answer
There is no problem with the unit running continuously without a break. The most wear occurs when the compressor starts up from being off. A unit that is sized to run continuously is actually more efficient than one that cycles on and off.
We have a slightly undersized Carrier central a/c unit (12 SEER) which is 26 years old, but still works as well as could be expected for one that age. The blower fan motor is original and the compressor is original. The original fan in the condensing unit failed and was replaced 2 years ago. On very hot summer days (>100 F) it turns on at say 11:00 am and runs continuously until 5 pm.