There truly is an art to figuring out the appropriate system size for a central air conditioning system. It all comes down to finding a system that is not too big, not too small, but just right for your home. It is not as simple as taking the square footage of your home though and matching it up to a particular-sized air conditioning system. You want to consider the layout of your home as well as the energy efficiency rating of the system you are thinking about as well. HVAC Nocatee, FL professionals like us can help you through this process when we size up your home for a new central air conditioning system.
The more you research central air conditioning systems, the more you will learn about the different options that you have at your disposal. Central air conditioning systems are measured in what is known as tons. The tons are not representative of the weight of the system, but a measurement of how much air it can push throughout your home to cool it. A home that is much bigger and more open is going to require a unit that has a higher ton rating. The SEER energy efficiency rating will come into play as well.
Sizing of the Unit
There is a lot to think about when it comes to the sizing of your central air conditioning unit. A unit that is too big or too small can be detrimental to the effectiveness of the HVAC Nocatee FL system, as well as its energy efficiency of it.
A system that is simply too big for the home may seem like a beautiful idea as you would expect it would do that much better cooling it. This is not true though by any means. A system that is too big is going to get your home to that temperature level faster and cycle off that much more rapidly as well. The speed at which it does this is going to be too fast to get the humidity in your home out, leaving the inside of the home much more humid than it should be.
A system that is too small is going to have the opposite problem as it could run for hours and hours and still not get your home to where it should be temperature-wise. This will waste a lot of energy and also leave you in a situation where the home is not as comfortable as it should be.
Energy Efficiency Standards
There are also energy efficiency standards that units have to follow based on your geographic area. In January 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy put out the minimum standards for central air conditioning systems, broken up into three regions. The North has a requirement of a 13 SEER, while the Southeast has a 14 SEER requirement. Southwest has the highest need with a 14 SEER and EER.
SEER equates to the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. This is a measure of the efficiency of the system to be able to cool the air. When you have a system that has a higher SEER number, it is going to be that much more energy efficient. SEER ratings can go over 20, and this should also factor into your decision along with the system size.
There are a lot of considerations to make when it comes to your central air conditioning system and its sizing of it. Our HVAC Nocatee FL professionals can take you to step by step through the process so that you have a full understanding of the system you are choosing and how it will fit with your home, as well as energy efficiency considerations.
