Choosing a new heater, heat pump, or air conditioner for your Modesto, CA, home is exciting. This is a chance to optimize your comfort and indoor air quality, lower your energy bill, and reduce your carbon footprint. However, you must size your new equipment correctly to meet these and other goals.
Over- and undersized HVAC equipment uses more energy than it should. It has difficulty regulating temperatures and humidity and may fail long before its time. The following are three essential tips for ensuring that your next HVAC installation is the perfect size.
1. Don’t Get Lured in by Big Box Stores
Many big-box stores offer an impressive selection of HVAC appliances at surprisingly low prices. Many homeowners make the mistake of shopping for these units on their own. Purchasing your heater or AC might save you a little cash up front, but it could cost you a fortune over time if you don’t use professional assistance to choose the right size.
What Happens When HVAC Units Are Too Large or Too Small?
Sizing denotes the heating and cooling capacity of heaters, heat pumps, and ACs. A unit that’s too small won’t be powerful enough to heat or cool your entire home. As a result, the heater or cooling cycles will run significantly longer than usual.
It might also overheat, ice over, or shut down. Undersized units often wear down long before their time, and they usually experience many costly issues throughout their lifetime.
Oversized units are just as problematic. Oversized units run shorter-than-average heating or cooling cycles because they’re too powerful for their service areas. This limits their ability to extract excess humidity and has a minimal effect on indoor temperatures.
Although their heating or cooling cycles are shorter, oversized units tend to run more frequently. This also leads to high energy bills, excess wear, and short lifespans.
How Sizing Problems Affect HVAC Manufacturers’ Warranties
Installing an oversized or undersized unit could compromise its manufacturer’s warranty. These warranties cover the cost of replacing or repairing defective units that were incorrectly assembled or have other manufacturing-related faults. Buying your next HVAC unit from a big-box store could leave you paying for repairs out of your pocket.
Worse still, many HVAC companies won’t guarantee the labor to install units they haven’t supplied.
Source Your HVAC Equipment From a Licensed HVAC Company
Source your new HVAC equipment from a licensed HVAC company. Doing so will protect your manufacturer’s warranty, ensure optimal efficiency and performance, and give you access to top-rated brands and models.
2. Never Rely on Square Footage Alone
When shopping for heat pumps and AC units, homeowners often rely solely on square footage for sizing. They simply match available BTUs to the listed square footage of their home. Although this works in theory, it rarely works well in practice.
The listed square footage for your home doesn’t accurately reflect the size of your living area. Instead, it accounts for spaces like basements, attics, utility closets, and pantries. Using square footage to size HVAC equipment also fails to account for building and household-specific factors affecting your heating and cooling capacity needs.
3. Hire an HVAC Installer That Uses the Manual J Load Calculation
The Manual J Load Calculation is the best way to determine your home’s heating and cooling needs accurately. Also known simply as the Manual J, this calculation accounts for factors like:
- Building layouts
- Actual living area
- Window types, sizes, and locations
- Ceiling heights
- Insulation amounts and R-values
It also accounts for the number of building residents. Having more or fewer building residents milling about your home, adding condensation to the air, and generating heat impacts how much heating and cooling capacity you need.
The Manual J is an incredibly complex calculation. Many HVAC companies run this calculation with the help of sophisticated software. When choosing and hiring an installer for your next HVAC replacement, always look for a company that uses the Manual J.
We help Modesto residents optimize their home comfort with accurate HVAC sizing and expert installation. We offer top-notch heating, cooling, and indoor air quality services. We also provide generator services and solar installation and repairs. For help sizing your next heater, heat pump, or AC installation, contact Honey's Air & Solar today!
