Start Here to Figure Out Your System
It’s a widely recognized fact: oversized systems lead to inflated costs, energy wastage, and occasionally compromise comfort levels. The key is finding the right fit for optimal efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and comfort. Selecting the right sized equipment is crucial to avoid overspending unnecessarily. Conducting a comprehensive Manual J, S, D, & T calculation ensures that your investment in a furnace is precisely tailored to your needs.
- “Manual J” (residential load calculations): This is the first step in designing the perfect HVAC system for your home. It’s tailored-made every time to not only match the specifics of your home, but also your comfort. It can be complex, but worthwhile when done right. This ultimately figures out:
- Total amount of heat loss & gain through the exterior of the home.
- These calculations will look at different specs of home when completing the formula.
- Walls, floor square footage, ceilings, floorplan, amount of insulation, and size & number of rooms, doors, windows.
- They also take in “comfort” factors:
- Numbers of people living in the home
- Geographic location of home (include sun coverage)
- Tightness of home
- Air leakage in ducts
- “Manual S” (residential equipment selection): Based off of Manual J calculations, this procedure can determine the proper equipment & size. We need to think about each system’s ability to remove heat and moisture from the air, along with its capacity to handle the total volume of air and at what pressure the system can operate at.
- “Manual D” (duct design): A well designed system should distribute air EVENLY throughout the home for optimal comfort (plus save big on energy costs!). Wondering if it’s you or your ducts?
- Uneven distribution of hot/cold air? (inaccurately sized HVAC registers)
- Too noisy? (undersized ducts)
- Higher energy bills because the HVAC works much harder? (oversized ducts)
- Distorts air flow & poor indoor air quality? (incorrect number of registers)
- “Manual T” (air distribution): This shows you how to achieve optimal air movement by avoiding improper sizing or choosing incorrect equipment. Questions to answer:
- Where will the supply registers, diffusers, or grills be located?
- Where will the return grills be located?
- What type of register, diffuser, or grill will you use?
- How big does it need to be?
- Extra Tips:
- A larger unit tends to start & stop more often causing them to be more expensive to run on a regular basis.
- AC systems are designed to cool & dehumidify the home to achieve total comfort & excellent overall air quality.