Schedule Typically, springtime is a pretty common time for air conditioning replacement services, and it’s not hard to see why. At that point, temperatures haven’t quite risen to a point that you need your air conditioner hour after hour. But if you have an older unit that’s experiencing problems, or you just feel like you need an upgrade, you might be ready to replace your current air conditioner. This way, you can enjoy the benefits of an efficient cooling system as well as the peace of mind that a newer, more effective system brings.
However, as tempted as you may be to rush this process during this hottest time of the year, purchasing a new AC system actually involves a variety of preparatory steps, not all of which you can handle on your own. For an accurate air conditioning installation in Sugar Land, TX, you want to trust the pros. Only by doing this can you ensure that your air conditioner is the right size for your home. Failure to determine this factor means that you won’t have a system with power levels to meet your needs—which is actually a lot bigger deal than you may realize.
The Importance of Proper AC Sizing
Sizing a new cooling system involves balancing its power levels against the needs of your home. Neither underpowered (too small) or overpowered (too large), but instead exactly what you need—the Goldilocks principle! It’s probably easy to assume why you don’t want too small of a system—it will constantly run and increase your energy bills without ever actually cooling your home effectively.
But too large of a system, or an overpowered air conditioner, can cause just as much of a problem—there is such thing as cooling a home too quickly. Air conditioning systems use a great deal of energy turn on and turning off—much more than they do simply running. It also undergoes a lot more wear and tear shutting on and off. Ideally, you want your air conditioner to run at least 15 minutes at a time.
However, when you air conditioner is overpowered, it will shut off and turn on rapidly… every couple minutes or so. This process is called short-cycling: cooling your home too quickly and shutting off, only to turn on again a few minutes later due to the resting heat in the home. This is extremely hard on the system, raising your monthly bills as the system consumes more energy than it should, and increasing wear and tear—elevating the chances of a more serious breakdown.
Perhaps most importantly, it will shorten the system’s lifespan, forcing you to purchase a new AC system much sooner than you would have otherwise.
Calculating Cooling Loads
The key to getting the right sized air conditioner for your home is having highly trained and experienced technicians, such as our staff, do an inspection of your home and what’s called a cooling load calculation to determine the appropriate size. This involves not only measuring the square footage of your living space, but other factors like how many windows and doors there are, how high your ceilings are, and how much insulation you have.
When you are ready to schedule your next air conditioner installation, simply contact Fresh Air, LP!
