When you think about getting a new air conditioning system, do you think bigger must mean better?
The Main Issue
It might sound like a bigger system will keep your house cooler, but that’s not the case! It is true that if you size up from a 3 ton to a 5 ton, you’d drop the temperature in your house faster. The problem is that in the summer our homes are not only hot, but they’re also humid. If a unit is too big for the house the system will short cycle, which means it will not run long enough to remove the humidity from the air. Drier air feels a lot more comfortable than humid air! If your home is cool but humid, you will not be as comfortable as if you are cool and dry.
What We Usually Find
Sometimes when people call us for a new system, they tell us they need something bigger. This is almost never the case! We find that about 95% of the time, whatever size unit is already in the house is the correct size for the house. There are situations in which we will bump up the size if a room or attic space has been added to the area being air-conditioned. However, most of the time, the unit you have in your house now is the right size unit for your home.
The Core of The Problem
So why do homeowners often ask us about bigger units? Usually, this happens because some rooms are not being cooled. This is almost always a ductwork problem, and we can fix it for you. It’s much better to do that than to put an oversized system in your home.
How big should your air conditioning system be?
The typical rule of thumb is about 500 square feet per ton. This means that if you have a 2,000-square-foot house, you would need a 4-ton system. Some of the manufacturers of higher-end equipment use 400 square feet per ton. This is usual for a multi-stage system or a variable refrigerant flow system. But most often the units we install call for 1 ton per about 500 square feet of living space.
Your Next Step
We can look at the size of your home and calculate the right size system to keep you perfectly cool all summer. Give us a call at (972) 423-1279, before the heat is here!