subject: Sizing Home Cooling System [print this page] The summer heat is just about here and your cooling systems are starting to look a little old. Before you start turning up the ac units and watching your energy bill rocket sky high, consider replacing your central air conditioning system. When you start shopping for new cooling systems, consider the size you will need you may be able to get a smaller unit than you expect!
Start by evaluating how well your home is insulated. Adding more insulation to walls, ceilings and your attic will greatly reduce the amount of work your new air conditioning units will do. Insulating before purchasing a new unit will help you save twice your energy bills will drop and you will be able to save by purchasing a smaller cooling system.
You also need to check how tightly your home is sealed. Well-sealed homes will limit the amount of hot and humid air that gets inside your house. Air leaks can add up until they equal open windows, and sealing those leaks will reduce cooling costs by up to 20 percent. The easiest to spot leaks are around windows and doors, but holes in the attic, basement and crawl spaces will cause bigger problems. Seal these leaks with caulk, spray foam and weather stripping. Make sure you do not seal the home too tightly this is less of a concern with older homes. Each home needs a certain amount of fresh air to reduce indoor air pollution. After you seal the leaks, hire a heating and cooling technician to check the home to make sure combustion appliances, including gas and oil fired furnaces, water heaters and dryers, have enough ventilation.
Next, its time to check how well ducts are sealed and insulated. Ducts carry cooled air from the air conditioner. Under-insulated ducts heat up and reduce the amount of cool air that gets from your unit to you. Leaky ducts cause your heating and cooling system to work harder than it needs to when regulating the temperature inside your home. Signs of leaky ducts include high utility bills year round, rooms that are difficult to heat or cool, stuffy rooms, ducts located in attics, crawlspaces or garages, and flexible ducts.
You can seal ducts yourself with metal tape or mastic sealant. Do not use duct tape, as it is not long lasting. Make sure all connections at vents and registers are well-sealed, especially where they meet floors, walls and ceilings.
If you are also changing the landscaping of your home, consider planting leafy trees on the south and west sides of your home. The trees will shade your home in the summer, but allow the sun to warm your home in the winter. You can also install awnings on these windows, but unless they are retractable, the awnings will block warming sunlight in the winter months.
The size, layout and orientation of your home will also contribute to the size of cooling system you will need. How your walls and roof are positioned in relation to the sun are important factors in finding the right AC unit.
