Couldn't you turn the heat on and get it to like 78 in the house, then switch to AC and see that it cools it down?

The outside air must be 60 degrees farenheit in order to test the air conditioning by turning on the compressor. Mom worked at Sears Service Center, sending out repairmen, so I know that this was their standard.

Sorry I cannot help about how to confirm that it works. I hope someone else will know.

Trying to think creatively here. How about tenting the compressors and then heating inside the tented area to get it above 60?

I've been told by two different inspectors that it will do harm to the compressor if you try to run in when the temperatures are below 65 degrees.

I'm with sparksals on the home warranty for the AC and the need to check duct work. That should cover you.

I agree with keco1 and sparksals. I would definitely request a home warranty. It's good protection for you and they should want to make you feel comfortable.

I've been in the same spot with AC testing in cool weather. I decided to believe the sellers, and everything did work out just fine. A home warranty is a reasonable choice for a 15 yr old home, but read the policy carefully before you decide if it worth the money. It is not the seller's fault that you can't test the AC before purchase, so the seller's may feel you should pay the warranty yourself.

No HI in his right mind will trun on the AC under such conditions as it can damage the compressor. Most buyers request an amount to be held in escrow until it can be tested in the spring.

While we've had a negative experience dealing with our home warranty company (AON) when we needed to replace our AC, I agree with those who recommend the sellers buy a one-year home warranty that covers the A/C. Just make sure that they also buy the "extra" coverage so that if the A/C needs to be replaced, you get money to purchase an energy efficient unit (13 or higher SEER). Our warranty said that they would only install/pay for a 10 SEER unit.

Hopefully you won't need to use the home warranty.

I agree with logic. This is what we did when we bought our house in January FSBO. My lawyer's paralegal suggested it and when the owner balked that they had never heard of such a thing I responded that my lawyer had drawn them up before and then stood my ground. All was well with the air conditioning the following spring and the escrow money was returned to the seller.

If the AC is independent of the furnace, you'll just have to wait for warmer weather to know for sure. If the AC is integrated with a heat pump, its a pretty safe bet that the AC works as long as the heat pump works too.

Also, switching an AC/heat pump unit from cold to hot or from hot to cold, without giving it a few minutes to rest can damage or break the unit too.

quip - usually seller's provide the home warranty - at least in my area they do and it's not unreasonable to request they pay for it. It's about $400 and if it's the difference btwn making or breaking the sale, then they should provide it - especially since the AC cannot be tested.

We have American Home Shield and it covers full replacement of the AC/furnace if it dies.

Sparksal, I've seen home warranties handled in several ways here. Some sellers advertise that a warranty is included. A couple realtors here pay to include one on each of their listings. Some buyers write a warranty into the purchase agreement. But, I believe the OP is further along in the process. Certainly the warranty could be negotiated as part of the inspection process. But if the inspection is clean, the sellers may or may not feel inclined to pay for the warranty, especially if they have had professional AC check-ups. Depending on the market and the tenor of the negotiations, the buyers MAY need to decide if it is worth paying for a warranty themselves. I don't think it either party would be wise to walk away from a sale over the cost of a warranty, although sometimes sellers recieve lucrative back-up offers and are itching to drop the first contract.

We didn't ask for the home warranty as part of the sales contract. We may ask for the seller to provide it, since we can't test the AC. Or maybe to split the cost. But if they won't, then we'll purchase one for ourselves. We like the house and won't quibble over $400.

If we ask for money to be put aside in escrow, what would be a fair amount? Since we can't turn it on, we don't know what might be wrong with it (if anything), so repair estimates would be difficult to get. Is $5000 too much? Too little?

Home warranties are not worth the paper they are printed on.
Ask anyone that's tried to file a claim.
Have the seller pay for an HVAC guy come out and check it. I like the idea of heating up the inside personally.
I have a situation where I have a lot of uncovered windows on my southern expsure and it can be in the 30's or 40's outside but heat up to the 80's inside! It's horrible! Anyway I usually have to run the AC in the dead of winter during the day. NEver have problems getting it to come on.

Home warranties are not worth the paper they are printed on.
Ask anyone that's tried to file a claim.

Well, my mom keeps renewing her home warranty because she has filed several claims and has had good experiences. When we sold our house last year we offered a home warranty because the house was 22 years old. There was an issue with the swimming pool during inspection, and rather than deal with it at the time we extended the warrantly to include the pool. I have been notified by the warranty company that the new owners have used the warranty service at least twice. Once for the pool and once for the heating system. We went with American Home Shield, which is the company that my mom uses. If you do go with a home warranty DO make sure that the new 13 SEER units are covered.

Have the seller pay for an HVAC guy come out and check it. I like the idea of heating up the inside personally.

Didn't you read the posts that said that running the air conditioner in cold weather could damage the compressor?

Similar to how you have no problems with your warranty company, I have had no problems running the a/c in the cold. But even if I did, Hey I've got a warranty!
Seriously though thanks for posting the name of your warr co since there was a post here not long ago and the overwhelming majority was having problems.

For escrow I would find out what a replacement cost for the unit would be and ask for that amount. Then you could even do an either or with the homeowner given the choice of whether to do a home warranty or put the money in escrow

quirky, it doesn't matter how hot the inside of the house gets - you may not turn on the air conditioning compressor in cool or cold weather.

Our home warranty was not helpful. It only covered the water heater if it did not heat water at all, no matter that you could not get a shower out of it.

Nancy, of course you can turn on the A/C in the cold weather if you want to! It just might damage the compressor.

There are different variables that will determine if the compressor will get damaged. There may be a crankcase heater to protect the compressor. Scroll compressors are much more tolerant of cool weather operation than reciprocating types.

The central A/C in my house gets turned on a lot in 40 -50 degree weather without a problem. Try telling my wife not to turn on the A/C after taking a hot shower, drinking hot coffee and using a hair dryer for fifteen minutes!