There are a lot of misconceptions regarding air conditioning systems. For example, air conditioners don’t exactly create cool air, as you may think: they actually remove heat! Another common misconception is that air filters don’t need to be changed if your air quality hasn’t suffered, but this simply isn’t the case. And the misconception we’d like to focus on today is a big one, literally: that the size of an air conditioner doesn’t matter.
Many people believe that a bigger air conditioner is better, but a smaller air conditioner will do just fine, and this is a dangerous way of thinking. With the wrong air conditioner in place, your comfort and your bills will be affected. Read on to see what we mean!
What We Mean When We Talk About Sizing
Air conditioners come in different sizes, but that’s not necessarily related to the size or weight of the air conditioner itself.
When we talk about air conditioners, we refer to their tonnage. You can purchase a 1.5 ton air conditioner, for example, but that doesn’t mean it actually weighs that much.
Rather, one ton refers to how much cooling capacity an air conditioner has. A 1-ton air conditioner can remove 12,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units) of heat from a home per hour. It’s important to find the one that matches the amount of space in your home—and more.
When an Air Conditioner Is Under-Sized…
When an air conditioner is too small for your home (in other words, when the cooling capacity is not enough to remove heat from your home quickly enough), you can expect to have a lot of problems feeling comfortable. The air conditioner will likely have to run nonstop, which means you can expect:
- A lot of repairs for a worn-down AC system.
- High energy bills.
- A complete breakdown after only a short number of years.
When an Air Conditioner Is Over-Sized…
That doesn’t mean it’s best to get the biggest air conditioner you can find. Bigger is not always better, and in fact it can also lead to the early breakdown of your air conditioning system. The air conditioner was designed to cool a bigger space, meaning it was designed for a set run time that won’t wear down its components.
When an air conditioner is over-sized, it runs for too short of a period, and turns on for brief cycles over and over again—likely without doing a good job of dehumidifying the space. This is known as short cycling, and it wears down the AC components causing more repairs than you should be making.
One Size Is Just Right
There’s only one size of air conditioner that is just right for your home. And it’s not easy to determine what this is. Technicians have a special way to calculate what size is best for your home. They may not just look at square footage, but also…
- Whether there are trees shading the home.
- Any insulation you have.
- The type and placement of windows.
- The number of people in the home.
- And more!
Reach out to a trained technician to see that you get the best air conditioner for your home in terms of sizing, brand, and efficiency rating.
Robbins Heating & Air Conditioning is your source for air conditioning installation in Colorado Springs. Call us today to get the right air conditioner for your home.
