Is Your Air Conditioner Properly Sized

Is Your Air Conditioner Properly Sized

About 80% of homes are equipped with air conditioners. Most homes, however, have AC units that are too small or too big. People fail to realize that size does matter when it comes to air conditioner.

How to determine proper sizing for your Air Conditioner?

One of the best ways to determine proper sizing of the air conditioner is by consulting a professional. They usually use the Manual J method to determine the right size. But in order to give you an idea on how to size your air conditioner, you need to do the math.

A lot of factors come into play when sizing a Thornton cooling system for a home. The size of your room or home is one of the most important factors to consider. For example, the room measures 300 square feet. Multiply that by 25, and you’ll get 6,000. That’s the BTU capacity unit you’ll need for your room.

You also need to take into consideration the number of people that occupies the space, building materials, insulation, window type, shading, the home’s orientation towards the sun, and duct condition. If more than 2 persons will occupy the room, add 600 BTU per person. If the room is sunny, increase the BTU capacity by 10%. If it is heavily shaded, reduce it by 10%.

Why is an oversized AC a bad idea?

Most people assume that they’d be able to save money by choosing an oversized air conditioner. The more powerful the air conditioner is, the better, right? Not necessarily.

When an air conditioner is oversized, it will only work for a short time to meet the desired temperature. After which, the AC will shut down. This means that your AC will be consuming less energy and help you save money on your energy bills. But since your air conditioner will be starting up and shutting down a number of times within the day, this may lead to premature wear and tear. The more it happens, the shorter the life of your cooling system. You might be able to save money on your energy bills, but you may need to replace your AC after a few years. Make sure you have a properly sized air conditioner.

Aside from cooling the room, an air conditioner has another job – to remove moisture from the air. When your AC unit is too big, it will cool the room quickly and will shut down even before it actually conditions the air. As a result, moisture will remain in the room. High humidity can contribute to mold problems. It may also trigger allergic reactions and asthma.

Need HVAC Service?

Contact the experts at Carbon Valley Heating & Air.

Call us at 303-833-4466!