When it comes to installing an air conditioner in your home, size does matter — a lot. An air conditioner that’s too small will not be able to keep a Yuma home cool during Southwest Arizona’s long, hot summers. Because of this, some people try to be “on the safe side” by installing an A/C that’s too large. Oversized air conditioners come with their own problems, as they cannot efficiently keep a home comfortable and have a higher price tag to begin with.
It is crucial, therefore, to have an air conditioning system that is sized just right for your home. Determining the right size is not as easy as it may look, though. Many people try to base the size on the square footage of the house, but that’s actually only one factor out of many; two houses of an identical size can have vastly different air conditioning needs. Even if you are replacing an existing system, you cannot just assume the new A/C needs to be the same size as the old one, as air conditioning technology has changed significantly over the years. Plus, then you are assuming that the original system was sized correctly, which is not necessarily the case.
A professional HVAC contractor will instead recommend a system specifically tailored to your home’s needs by calculating the heat gain of your house. The heat gain is how much heat energy the air conditioner has to overcome in order to cool the house to a comfortable temperature. The heat gets into your house through a variety of sources:
- Convection, through the exterior walls
- Air leaks, through walls or open doors
- Sunlight shining through windows
- Waste heat from indoor appliances
- Body heat, from humans and pets
Accurately calculating the heat gain from all of these sources is fairly complex, and does require some work on the contractor’s part. But it is the only way to ensure that your air conditioner meets the unique requirements of your home.
At Hansberger Refrigeration and Electric, we put forth the time and effort to do the job right. Contact us today with any questions; we’ll be happy to help.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about how your contractor will tailor your new air conditioner to the unique requirements of your home and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Hansberger Refrigeration & Electric Co services the Yuma area in Arizona. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
