A Wrong Sized Heating and Air System Will Affect Your Home
If it is time to replace your current heating and air system or if you’re adding a new system to a home currently without one, there are many puzzling dynamics to take into account. One very important factor is to make sure that the wrong sized heating and air system is not installed. This will cause many problems in the future if your system is not sized correctly. In this article you’ll learn how to ensure you have the properly sized system, as well as what installing the wrong sized heating and air system will cost you.
Depending on the size of your home, the size of the system needs to reflect it. Think about it, a home that is 3,200 square feet will not need the same size system as a home that is only 1,200 square feet. How do you determine the size of the system needed to heat and cool your home? This is something that needs to be done by a professional in your home. No company should be able to tell you what size system you’ll need over the phone. Once the professional is at your home they’ll complete several tasks to determine the proper size for your system. The first is determine the heat loss/heat gain analysis, which is known as the load calculation. This takes into consideration the climate, number of windows, insulation and ductwork, skylights and fireplaces, building materials, ceiling heights, the number of people in your home, and the size of your home. No company should tell you what size system you need over the phone!
You need to be aware of companies quoting you for the wrong sized heating and air system. Some may say you need a system that is too big for your home, just to make a few extra bucks on selling you a larger system. It is required that they do the proper load calculation, so do not let a company install a system without performing one.
If your system is too big for your house the following problems will occur. The system will heat or cool your home too quickly, which doesn’t sound like a major problem, though it is. If the desired temperature is reached too fast, the system will shut off before it has time to remove moisture from the air. During the hot summer months this will leave your home feeling sticky. Another issue with a system that is too large for your home is your system will short cycle. This simply means it’s going to come on and off a lot. Short cycling reduces your system’s lifespan and also can cause increased energy bills.
If you have a system installed that is too small for your home, you’ll also have problems. Your system will constantly run trying to reach the desired temperature, and might never reach it. This will cause extreme wear on your system, as well as raise your energy bills, and keep you from being comfortable in your own home.
Now that you know all the issues that can occur from having the wrong sized heating and air system installed, make sure this doesn’t happen to you. Have the proper load calculation done during your at home estimate. O’Brien offers free at home estimates, so if you’re looking to install a new heating and air system give us a call today. For more information on having the wrong sized heating and air system installed, visit this link from Trane’s Website.
