The short answer to this is, yes! Unfortunately, too many homeowners think they should just buy the biggest furnace or air conditioner they can get within their budget, but this simply isn’t the case. In fact, a system that’s too large can be just as ineffective as one that’s too small.
Since we’re nearing the official end of winter, we’re going to assume that it’s a new air conditioner installation that has you perusing this blog post. But it should be noted that the concepts we’re talking about below absolutely apply to furnaces as well.
We are here to guide you in the right direction—bigger doesn’t always mean better. When it comes to your air conditioning system, size and power both matter, but not necessarily in the way you think. Keep reading as we uncover the problems with not only an undersized HVAC system, but an oversized one as well.
What’s Wrong with an Undersized AC Unit?
As you might imagine, an undersized—or rather, underpowered—air conditioning system will not be able to keep up with your household’s cooling demands. It will force the unit to run longer, and basically “work harder” than it should have to in order to do its job. This will result in a rise in utility costs for you.
Additionally, an undersized AC system (or furnace) won’t be able to keep your home as comfortable as it should or as you would like. During one of the hottest days of the year, you can certainly understand why an underpowered air conditioner would be a problem. It’s better to make sure that you have a professional’s help with installing a properly sized air conditioner right from the beginning.
What’s Wrong with an Oversized AC Unit?
This is a problem that most homeowners are less familiar with. You probably have always thought that a big system is better and more powerful at keeping a home cool. On the contrary, it’s actually really inefficient. This is because optimal AC efficiency occurs through continued operation and regular, timed, cooling cycles.
When an air conditioning system is too big for the home it’s installed it, desired temperatures will be reached too fast, before the system has the opportunity to complete a full cooling cycle. This is a problem known as short-cycling.
Short-cycling isn’t a minor issue. It’s very inefficient, for starters, and it causes strain on your AC system, creating a faster accumulation of wear and tear. The only way to “fix” this problem is to replace the system with a properly sized one. As you can see now, buying an oversized unit will end up being a really costly mistake!
How to Find the Right Size Air Conditioner
Call our HVAC technicians! We complete something called a cooling load calculation, which involves us looking at a number of factors. Yes, the square footage of your home is important, but we also consider things like how high your ceilings are, what kind of insulation and building materials your home has, and even how many windows and doors are in the space.
From there we can help you determine what the right size and model of AC will be for your space, and can guide you in selecting and installing your new air conditioner.
Contact Cool Care Heating and Air Conditioning for quality Houston, TX HVAC installation and more!