Apartment communities have several options when residents don’t operate their air-conditioners.

It might seem hard to believe, but some apartment managers find that residents will not turn on their airconditioning systems even during the hottest and most humid times of year.

For example, some residents who pay their own electric bills, such as at some tax-credit properties, are fiscally conservative when it comes to utility use because many are on fixed incomes. To them, the potential spike in utility costs is worse than sweating through the day.

But their frugalness can lead to conditions that might lead to mold growth in some low-circulation areas of their apartment homes, such as back closets. And for older residents, stale or poorly circulated air can create health or safety issues.

Ted Wendt, CPM HCCP, says his team members have been known to visit with residents during peak humidity seasons and ask these valued residents to turn on their air-conditioning units. He says that most residents respond that they will, but sometimes don’t follow through. This, he says, can further exacerbate humidity and mildew conditions in the apartment.

“You can understand their financial concern, but we’d rather that they feel comfortable,” Wendt says.

This becomes problematic during the summer in markets such as Louisiana, Houston and other areas known for their humid climates.

Venting

Establishing mutual agreement with the residents about the vent systems’ value is not always easy, Wendt says.

“Despite the vents using a minimal amount of electricity, residents sometimes try to figure out ways to turn these ventilators off for fear that their utility bills will increase,” he says.

Wendt instead recommends that the vents are installed during apartment unit turns or during new development; especially within tax-credit developments, where oftentimes the additional capital expense on the front-end sometimes can yield more credits for the developer.

With existing apartments, he says he prefers not wiring the ventilation systems through the apartment units’ circuits, instead opting for the common area circuit, which eliminates any chance that a resident would be charged.

He says that because the property’s common area wiring is oftentimes readily available, the cost of electricity is less than having the air-conditioner running 10 to 20 times more frequently. It can be a “win-win” situation if conducted properly, he says.

“For some markets, this is a no-brainer,” he says. “And for tax-credit properties, this can work even more in favor of the property manager or developer because of the up-front capital benefits along with the chance to enhance the residents’ lifestyle while making less of an energy footprint for our planet.”

A/C Run Time

NAA Education Institute National Maintenance and Safety Instructor Paul Rhodes, CAMT, says that ventilation systems can be effective, but are not a one-size-fits-all solution. He says to first consider the air-conditioner’s operating efficiency. Airconditioners that are working properly with appropriate run times and cooling capacity based on manufacturer’s recommendations are designed to remove humidity from the air.

Run time is important because it allows the system to remove the humidity from the living space. If a system is sized too big, it will cool, but not run long enough to remove the moisture from the air. Therefore a cool, damp feeling is created.

If the system is not charged properly with refrigerant to the correct super-heat or sub-cooling temperatures, it reduces the amount of moisture it can remove because of a shortened run time, or an extended run time.

“Too often, the maintenance team only charges the systems to a set pressure, and they ignore the required guidelines and proper training,” he says. “This affects the moisture level in the apartment.”

If the system, fans and evaporator coils are not clean, air flow becomes reduced and it changes the temperature of the air, which can affect how cool it is or how much humidity it can remove from the air, Rhodes says.

“It becomes critical for all of these operational things to be done correctly before one can decide if they need an additional humidifier installed,” Rhodes says. Rhodes adds that by offering such a ventilation system, it could provide the apartment community with a distinguishing feature to help set it up favorably against its competition. Geographic climates can also dictate if additional ventilation is necessary.

“I agree this solution would work well in high-humidity areas of the country,” Rhodes says. “But in other, dryer areas, it would not work and could actually make the job of conditioning the air in the apartment more difficult. For instance, in low-humidity areas, this could make the apartment uncomfortably dry. Or, in areas with high dust or pollution, it could lead to issues from bringing unfiltered outside air into the living space.”

Rhodes says that ventilation is an under-served topic for maintenance considerations.

“Too often, moisture and temperature problems also could be properly diagnosed by verifying that the air is circulating correctly,” Rhodes says. “Instead, technicians adjust refrigerant or fail to remove air blockages—such as closed vent louvers or doors to rooms that are not undercut properly, so when closed, the air doesn’t circulate through the room.”

Fans and Dehumidifiers

Rhodes says another option might be to install a powered vent fan or create other forced circulation inside the apartment.

“There are small, low-wattage, quiet fans that can be installed above a closet door that are operated on timers or humidistats. These fans would circulate air from a closet to the rest of the apartment, whether the resident turns the AC on or not.”

The device Wendt uses is designed to operate independently and has sensors to detect the AC operation and its effect on relative humidity. It will adjust ventilation, according to demand, without shutting off, relying on relative humidity readings and trends.

Often, when the AC is not turned on, air might stagnate and create problems. A musty smell could be detected in a unit with poor ventilation. Wendt says his unit will optimize the rate of ventilation, depending on prevailing conditions. It reduces stagnation of air, which is a contributing factor to the nourishment of mold growth and also expels moisture that condensates on windows.

The device controls moisture differently than a conventional dehumidifier, which in essence, extracts moisture from the air via condensation. Dehumidifiers typically require greater wattage and require more maintenance and must be drained and have their filters changed. And, dehumidifiers typically re-circulate air, which, if unhealthy, does not serve residents well.

Paul R. Bergeron III is Director of Publications, NAA.