Posted by Administrator on 12/10/2007 9:25 AM
What's the wrong way to replace and size a system?


Reply by Administrator on 12/10/2007 9:44 AM
Many companies in our area like to do things the easy way and thus the wrong way. Sizing a home's air conditioning unit is one of the most important steps in replacing a system. Other companies like to replace a system with the same size system as the existing one. This is wrong for many reasons. The majority of existing systems out there were incorrectly sized to begin with. In addition, many homeowners have changed windows, doors, made new additions, and so forth changing the heating and cooling characteristics of their home. Another flawed method is when a contractor bases a new system on the fact that the old one wasn't cooling or heating properly at the time of replacement. Of course it wasn't heating and cooling properly, the system is sick, dieing, and terribly inefficient due to its age. So for a contractor to increase the size of your unit based on poor performance of your existing one is asinine. Improper sizing, too big or small, is very bad. If a system is too big, it won't run long enough to effectively remove the humidity from you home leaving it sticky, less comfortable, and prone for indoor air quality problems. It will also turn on and off constantly, as with a car, reducing the life of the unit. If a system is too small it will take the moisture out of the air. However, on the hottest days of year, it just won't be big enough to properly cool your home, increasing electric bills. At Bertie Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc., we do computerized load calculations on every job to make sure your new air conditioning system is properly sized, giving you the best comfort, lowest bills, and highest lifespan for your new unit.