How do I know what size air conditioner or furnace I need? Your dealer will do a load calculation on your home to determine the proper equipment size. Today’s units are often significantly more efficient than older models and don’t need to be as large to deliver the same or better amount of comfort. The load calculation is an important and potentially money-saving step to take, rather than just replacing your current unit with one of the same size.If you took a minute to step outside your house in Charlotte this week, you know it’s here… With temps floating into the 90’s for the 8th straight day, you can rest assured that Charlotte air conditioner repair companies are running full steam ahead to keep their customers cool during the heat spell. In a previous article, we discussed the cost to recharge a home air conditioner or heat pump on your Charlotte area central HVAC system, and in this Charlotte HVAC Guide, we are going to look at how many pounds of freon or refrigerant a system can hold.

The general rule amount that can be estimated is in the 2-4 pounds per ton of cooling for your system. Disclaimer: This rule of thumb is VERY general and there are several variables that come into play. My Carrier 3-ton system may use 4-5 pounds, while your Goodman heat pump may use 5-6. The ONLY way to know for sure is to read the label on the side of the unit, and have your installer or service company provide the info for you. As always, we recommend comparison shopping for installation and repairs as often as you can. Just like any other factor in pricing, you may find that 3 Charlotte AC repair contractors have 3 completely different prices for the same product or service. Take a look at the important variables that can affect how many pounds of freon your AC or Heat Pump may need. Probably one of the biggest factors, the size of your home AC or heat pump is going to have a significant effect on the amount of freon it uses on its own, but it will also have a downwind effect on several of the other factors listed below.

For example, a larger condensing unit, needs a larger liquid line on the lineset… which also means more capacity. Length and Size of Copper Lineset The farther distance between the condensing unit and the evaporator coil, means a longer lineset is used to connect the two. Most AC units come from the factory with enough of a charge for the unit, and 15 feet of lineset. cost ac unit replacementLonger distances require additional freon.ac unit cost and installation Larger capacity units also use a larger diameter tubing on the lineset, which will require more freon.small ac unit for window SEER Rating, or Operating Efficiency If you have seen a 10 SEER system, you know they are roughly 20-30 inches tall with a 24 inch base.

Essentially, a nice, small footprint. A comparable 15 SEER condensing unit may be 4 feet tall, with a 36 inch base, and be 2-3 times the size of the lower efficiency unit. This is due to all the extra coil surface required to generate the higher efficiency cooling, and thus… more freon is needed to fully charge the coil. It’s common to use a larger evaporator coil with an AC unit. In most cases, it can provide higher efficiency due to the larger coil area. Along with the added coil surface, you may need additional freon capacity to fill it. A split system, where the condensing unit is outside and the air handler, furnace and coil are inside (aka Split) is going to have to accommodate for different coils, linesets, and several other factors that were determined by the installer when the unit was first put into use. A Packaged HVAC System, or “All in One” has everything in one cabinet outside the home. There are no different coil sizes to deal with and the lines connecting everything are self-contained in the same box.