Is YOUR Air Conditioner Sized Right for YOUR Home?

• Does your AC cool the house in 10min or less on a hot afternoon? While that’s awesome, it could be indicating another issue. An oversized AC will be too efficient meaning it will reach the desired temperatures too fast, which results in shortened cooling cycles. The ongoing start-stop process can put increased strain on the air conditioner & its subsequent parts. Not to mention, it’s much more expensive on a monthly basis when this happens vs a more constant cycle. Finally, this process sends out such high volumes of cold air that it can trick the thermostat into thinking the entire space is cool when in reality, it’s just not even distributed. Before you realize, every room in the house will have a different temperature.
• Another benefit of an AC is to dehumidify your home which can only happen when it runs normal-length cycles. Allowing the short-cycles to occur, only worsens overall air quality in the end & creates more of a mold-conducive environment. Ultimately, if your home feels too humid, your AC could be oversized.
• Increasingly higher monthly bills can also mean your AC is oversized. All of the motor components draw more power when they start up vs constantly running. Of course, this creates more maintenance issues & requirements along the way as well.
• If the AC is too loud, it could be that it’s forcing too much air through the duct work.
• On the flip side, if the AC is too small, it’s forced to run at full capacity more often which brings its own problems.

This all happened because the tech who installed the AC didn’t do a cooling load calculation and incorrected sized your AC. To figure out the cooling load calculation, start by considering the following:

• The floor square footage of your home
• The number of rooms in your home
• The number & sizes of windows and doors in your home
• The climate you live in
• The insulation levels in your home
• The current condition of your home’s ductwork (i.e. does it have leaks?)

A new AC has to be sized just for your home and a cooling load calculation should done every time an AC is installed. If it wasn’t done right the first time, it can lead to ongoing failures within the system & poor indoor air quality for your home.