The central air unit
The most important decision in having a central A/C system installed in your home by one of the most qualified Allentown HVAC companies is selecting the right equipment.
Heat-gain Calculation- All cooling contractors should start their evaluation of your house by performing an Air Conditioning Contractors of America Manual J load calculation. This determines the heat gain your home is subject to. The calculation is relatively easy to perform and will reveal what size unit you need. You should choose another contractor if the one you're considering wants to determine the right unit for your house solely on experience. Though strongly influenced by where you live, several factors affect the size unit required, including the amount of wall and attic insulation you have; the types and placement of windows and doors; and the orientation of your home to the sun. The calculation can also alert you to the possible benefits of upgrading the insulation in your house. By making your home more energy efficient, you may be able to reduce the size of the air conditioner you need.
Sizing the Unit- Using the heat-gain calculation, your contractor will recommend an air conditioner size, expressed either in tonnage or Btu per hour (Btu/h). One ton equals 12,000 Btu per hour. Why is getting the proper size unit so important? An undersized unit won't be able to cool rooms down completely on the hottest days and will cost more to operate because it has to run longer than a correctly sized unit. An oversize compressor also costs more to operate because it simply takes more electricity to run a bigger unit. And an oversize unit doesn't lower humidity effectively. That's because it cools the air so quickly that it shuts off before it has a chance to circulate the proper volume of air past the coils to extract the necessary moisture. The result is a room that doesn't seem as cool as the temperature indicates. In fact, the room can feel clammy and damp.
Proper Placement- Even the quietest condensers make noise, so work with your contractor to find a location that's not near a bedroom or home-office window. Don't place the condenser under a deck or completely enclose it because it exhausts warm air out the top. Any airflow restriction will lower the unit's efficiency. You can, however, hide the condenser in the landscaping, as long as air can freely circulate around it.
If you have ducts- You should have your ducts inspected. Many times, modifications are required to accommodate the greater volume of air produced by air-conditioning. Ironically, older duct systems, which tend to be larger, work best when retrofitting central air-conditioning. (As the heating industry has learned more about the dynamics of airflow and sizing furnaces and delivery systems, ducting has gotten smaller.)
If you do not have ducts- You may want to consider buying a ductless mini-split system since adding duct work can be very costly.
Heat-gain Calculation- All cooling contractors should start their evaluation of your house by performing an Air Conditioning Contractors of America Manual J load calculation. This determines the heat gain your home is subject to. The calculation is relatively easy to perform and will reveal what size unit you need. You should choose another contractor if the one you're considering wants to determine the right unit for your house solely on experience. Though strongly influenced by where you live, several factors affect the size unit required, including the amount of wall and attic insulation you have; the types and placement of windows and doors; and the orientation of your home to the sun. The calculation can also alert you to the possible benefits of upgrading the insulation in your house. By making your home more energy efficient, you may be able to reduce the size of the air conditioner you need.
Sizing the Unit- Using the heat-gain calculation, your contractor will recommend an air conditioner size, expressed either in tonnage or Btu per hour (Btu/h). One ton equals 12,000 Btu per hour. Why is getting the proper size unit so important? An undersized unit won't be able to cool rooms down completely on the hottest days and will cost more to operate because it has to run longer than a correctly sized unit. An oversize compressor also costs more to operate because it simply takes more electricity to run a bigger unit. And an oversize unit doesn't lower humidity effectively. That's because it cools the air so quickly that it shuts off before it has a chance to circulate the proper volume of air past the coils to extract the necessary moisture. The result is a room that doesn't seem as cool as the temperature indicates. In fact, the room can feel clammy and damp.
Proper Placement- Even the quietest condensers make noise, so work with your contractor to find a location that's not near a bedroom or home-office window. Don't place the condenser under a deck or completely enclose it because it exhausts warm air out the top. Any airflow restriction will lower the unit's efficiency. You can, however, hide the condenser in the landscaping, as long as air can freely circulate around it.
If you have ducts- You should have your ducts inspected. Many times, modifications are required to accommodate the greater volume of air produced by air-conditioning. Ironically, older duct systems, which tend to be larger, work best when retrofitting central air-conditioning. (As the heating industry has learned more about the dynamics of airflow and sizing furnaces and delivery systems, ducting has gotten smaller.)
If you do not have ducts- You may want to consider buying a ductless mini-split system since adding duct work can be very costly.