A new heating and air conditioning system can be very exciting: giving your home cool air in the summer and heated air in the winter far more efficiently than a system on its last legs. In fact, homeowners often schedule new HVAC system installation in the summer when their old air conditioner finally gives up the ghost. That can lead to a lot of scrambling, since you want a new system up as quickly as possible before our summer heat turns your home into an oven.
It’s very important, however, not to rush things too much. HVAC technicians need to carefully decide what system works best for your home and provide options that will make the best fit for the space. That can be trickier than it sounds, especially when it comes to sizing the system. We’re not talking about the physical size of the unit – though that can come into play – but rather its power output levels.
Short Cycling
You probably know already that an underpowered air conditioner won’t do your home much good. It will run and run all day without ever getting the space cool. That’s not usually the issue. The issue arises on the other side of the coin: an overpowered HVAC system. On the surface that doesn’t make a lot of sense: don’t you want the air conditioner to be as powerful as possible so you can cool your home quickly? It’s logical to think so, but that’s not actually the case.
HVAC systems us a lot more energy turning on and shutting down than they do simply running. That’s where a lot of the energy costs get sunk into, as well as a good deal of the wear and tear on the system. Ideally, it should run at least 15 minutes at a clip in order to be at its most effective.
If it cools the home too quickly, it causes something called “short cycling”: cooling the air too fast and turning off, only to turn on again just a few minutes later as the heat of the day warms the house us. That’s a big problem because it drives your monthly heating and cooling bills up higher than they should be, while adding a lot of wear and tear on the system to boot. It means you’ll be called for repairs sooner than you should, and that your system just isn’t doing the job the way it needs to.
The Goldilocks Rule
A good HVAC system should obey what we call The Goldilocks Rule: neither too large nor too small, but just right. The technician can figure this out by measuring the space of your home, then accounting for things like the amount of insulation in the walls (which will help the home keep cool in the summer and warm in the winter) and large picture windows (which can bring in a lot of sunshine and raise the temperature inside). That way, you’ll have a new HVAC system that is sized perfectly right and won’t give you any trouble.
For HVAC installation and replacement in West Chester, PA, call the pros at Wm. Henderson Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Inc.