Choosing the type and kind of central air conditioning system to install in your home's heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system is complicated. There are many physical factors about your home's cooling at play that directly affect the performance quality, efficiency, and the cost of how well a central air conditioning system will work in your home. You also must consider the wide variety of central air conditioning systems, as well as their size, efficiency, and installation requirements. So, it's no wonder that homeowners can get anxious when they want to know what size air conditioner they need for their home. Central air conditioning uses a compressor and condenser coil housed in an outside unit and an expansion valve and evaporator (also called an "A coil") mounted above the furnace heater inside your home's HVAC system. Air conditioning works by cycling refrigerant from gas to liquid and then to gas again through the use of pressure. The refrigerant (known as R-410A) begins the cycle as a low-pressure, low-temperature gas.

It enters the outside unit where it's first compressed into a high-pressure, high-temperature gas. Next it enters the condenser's coil where the fan cools the gas into a high pressure liquid. The liquefied refrigerant flows through tubing inside your home to the HVAC unit. There it first enters the expansion valve which limits the flow of the liquid as it enters the evaporator. This valve lets the liquid expand inside the evaporator coil into a gas, chilling to about 7 degrees Celsius as air from the HVAC blower moves over the coil. outdoor ac unit fan motorThe refrigerant then heads back to the outside unit as a low-temperature, low-pressure gas to begin the cycle again.replace or repair hvac unit Air is cooled by being blown over the chilled coil, and it's then circulated throughout your home. hvac unit 19

The AC system continues running until the desired temperature is reached. Any humidity in the air condenses onto the coil as water and drips into a condensation pan. In this way, your home is both cooled and de-humidified by a central air conditioning system. Choosing the correct size of your air conditioner is a key a factor for setting up a home cooling system. Sizing an air conditioner requires a consultation with a professional Energy Management Consultant who looks at the factors that effect your home's cooling: Likewise, it's not a simple matter of dropping-in any air conditioning system. The size is very important because the correctly sized air conditioner should run a proper full cycle and ensure your home stays cooler longer. An over-sized AC system will quickly over-cool the air in your home and shut off too soon. However, the building structure itself (walls, wood, furniture, etc.) will not be cooled adequately and allow heat and humidity to creep back in, and the AC will kick-on again and again.

As a consequence, over-sized systems run for too short a time far too often. And it can cost you far too much. An undersized system, however, will not effectively cool your entire home. It will run continuously, waste energy, and wind up costing you more. Air conditioner sizes are rated in tons of cooling capacity. One ton of cooling is equal to 12,000 BTU's (British thermal units) per hour. For example, a typical residential unit is a 2-ton unit that cools 24000 BTU/hour and a larger 3-ton unit cools 36000 BTU/hour. While two air conditioners be the same tonnage, they could be completely different in terms of their energy efficiency or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio(SEER) . Once you have found the right tonnage-size to cool your home, you'll want to look over which ones have the best SEER rating as is practical within your budget. The higher the rating, the less energy it will use - roughly 5% less per SEER. So an older 12 SEER upgraded to a higher efficiency SEER 16 will be approximately 20% more efficient and will cost less to run.

Systems that are Energy Star qualified range between 12 and 23 SEER. Because air conditioning is one of the most expensive conveniences you can have in your home, it's important to be able to rely on a trained professional that you can trust to listen to your needs and guide you through this complex process. Direct Energy's central AC sizing experts have years of design and installation experience. They'll inform you about the different cooling options for your home and design the right-sized energy efficient cooling system to work with your home's heating system and help save you money. SEER: 3 Free Tools That Show You How Much You’ll Save with a New AC So you’ve determined that you need a new air conditioner, and you’re well aware that SEER is a big deal when it comes to energy efficiency. But you have no idea how much money you’ll save by picking one SEER rated air conditioner versus another.In other words, you have no idea how much a 14 SEER saves versus a 13 SEER, or an 18 SEER versus a 16 SEER--and so forth.

How much you’ll save depends on several factors. But there are a few tools you can use to get a general sense--making shopping for a new air conditioner much easier.Here are 3 free tools that will empower you to estimate the savings you’ll get when picking one SEER rated air conditioner over another. 1) Annual Energy Savings Calculator from NATE Why this tool rocks: Simple and easy-to-useLets you see how much money you’ll save by picking one SEER over another when upgrading from your old system.Allows you to input the tonnage (cooling ability) of the unitWhat it‘s lacking: Can’t change the electric rate per kilowatt (measurement of the cost of electricity)No options for calculating based on your locationCan’t input the cost of the air conditioner to determine a break-even analysisBeginning SEER only goes as high as 12 SEER--limiting the comparisons you can make2) Energy Savings Calculator from Lennox Visually engagingUnlike the NATE tool, you can compare higher rated SEER air conditioners to each otherGives you 5, 10 and 15-year savings (this is important because air conditioners typically last about 15 years according to Consumer ReportsLets you input the electric rate per kilowatt (measurement of the cost of electricity)Lets you calculate based on locationWhat it‘s lacking:

Only lets you compare with 10 SEER rated air conditioners or higher (older air conditioners may be 8 SEER)Can’t input tonnageCan’t input the cost of the air conditioner to determine a break-even analysis3) Energy Usage and Payback Calculator (Excel File) From Energy Star More customization than other toolsGives you ability to input cost of air conditioner in order to see complete life cycle savingsLets you add number of air conditioner unitsLets you add electric rate per kilowattGives you option to calculate based on locationLets you see side by side comparisons of conventional vs Energy Star rated air conditionersWhat it‘s lacking: Not visually engaging and it’s not easy-to-use (especially if you’re not familiar with Excel)Lacks guidance for beginners. This tool can be overwhelming and not helpful if you don’t have all the information needed to make an accurate calculationIn summary Hopefully these tools will empower you to see the savings each SEER rated air conditioner will provide to make your air conditioner shopping easier.