Options? $360 monthly electric bill.?

Here is my take on this. As this is not the first time I heard a renter say my electric bill is 200+

The issue here is these apt complex are on the cheap and dont really maintain jack diddle squat. Everything is well look at it and out a band aid on it. Thats there choice.

I dont know if this is a heat pump setup or ac with gas furnace.

I suspect that 1. You may be low on charge. 2. The evaporator coil is extremly dirty (if they are using mesh style furnace filter I would almost bet it plugged

3 If the heat is done by electric only meaning no gas furnace and not a heat pump. You may have a relay stuck which no matter what the system is doing it always calling for heat !

The real problem here is your probably going to have complain out the wazoo before they even really attempt to do anything. The system need service plain and simple. It may just need a good professional cleaning. Depending on your skill set you could attempt most of the cleaning on your own. But I would summarize this post with a new one. There are things you could possible do to improve the preformace. One thing is so long as the unit copper lines and or outside unit are not freezing up, its a safe assumption to say you dont have a charge issue. You have a airflow restriction issue at the evaporator coil inside the air handler. Ive seen this time and time again where people that live in apt complexes will call me. I wont touch the outside unit, unless the "office" cant see me. But more often than not the two things that I see on a consistent basis are plugged up evaporator coils, cheap mesh filters (after cleaning put in pleated and change them often), and replace the mechanical thermostat with a basic cheap digital thermostat. 90% of the time that get the person cool and the bills more manageable. For sure no 200-300 bucks.

Just food for thought.

$360 is extremely high. $120 - $150 should be the norm.

Beg, borrow or steal an accurate thermometer. Place it in a vent closest to and above the furnace air handler, (where the A/C coil is in the furnace), and after it has been running for at least 30 minutes - check the reading. It should be 56 degrees or below, (usually 48 is average). If it is above 56 then the equipment may not be properly charged and the unit will run more - lots more.

Are all of the windows and combinations closed - tight?

It may help to have the furnace blower in the ON position at the thermostat on very warm days.

When you open a door --Close it ASAP. Opening a door for 15 SECONDS, (in very warm weather), requires the system to run for 30 minutes to replace the cool exited and warm air coming in.

Try closing some of the downstairs vents, (cold air travels down so you need to blow more upstairs since it will permeate down anyway).

Unless you have the newer CFL lamps and use the old incandescent bulbs then you must turn off all bulbs you are not using. A 60 watt CFL will generate 13 watts of light and 8 watts of heat. A 60 watt incandescent will generate 60 watts of light 50 watts of heat so it does not take many of the old bulbs to generate a fair amount of heat?

The unit must NOT run continuously. It must shut down every hour or so for the coil to defrost if it is not properly charged with freon.

A western or southern exposure is very difficult to cool. Window coverings can help but must be kept closed most of the time.

It is very rare but, I have seen where power company meters were mixed and people were paying someone elses bill. Request a check/test from the power company - to insure your apartment is connected to the proper meter.

Either the central a/c is extremely undersized or it has a problem with cold air leaking out of ducts. If it's an old complex it probably is poorly insulated too, about the only thing I can suggest is maybe looking for another place. It would be hard to force management to do something if the unit is running.

alekat has your answer. Our AC was low and ran for days with out turning off. The AC service man fixed a leak and filled the system. It cooled and turned off with in a few minutes. our bill went down a few hundred following month.

ask your neighbors what the electric bill is running. also ask the power Co to check your meter. you can get it replaced free of charge if you feel it is bad.