New Construction
Are you building a new home and deciding on air conditioning? When it comes to New Construction, it is critical that efficient Heating and Cooling systems are installed correctly the first time, every time.
The first problem to guard against is over-sizing an air conditioner. On first thought, this would seem like a good idea – how can you have too much air conditioning? An air conditioner is most efficient the longer it runs. If it is too big, it will run for a couple of minutes, then shut off and continue this pattern.
The air conditioner is also a dehumidifier. If the unit is too big and spends more time off than on, the coils won’t get cold enough for a long enough period of time to condense enough moisture to be effective in removing moisture from the air creating a lot of humidity and mold. If it is the right size, it will run much longer, allowing the home to dehumidify properly.
- Once a proper heat loss/gain calculation has been done, buying a larger unit than called for is unnecessary.
- In addition to over-sizing the unit, there are other factors that can spoil an installation.
Another factor that we find is under-sized returns. The return is what brings the air in your home back into the ducting and to the forced air unit. In order for the air to be cooled down properly it needs enough surface area for the air to pass over the coils. If your return is undersized, it makes the rest of your system work harder and eventually shortens the life of the unit and makes it run less efficiently.
