The sizing chart below is useful to help you determine your approximate central air conditioner size requirements. If you still need help, don't worry! Chat with or call one of our factory trained advisors to help get you the answers you need. As an alternative to the sizing chart below we offer MANUAL J - a professional load calculation based on your floor plan, location, and all variables. Please follow the link below for pricing. The turnaround for this service is 1-2 days. MANUAL J Residential Load Calculation Air Conditioning Square Footage Range by Climate Zone In order to scientifically calculate the right central air conditioner size, you can perform a Residential Load Calculation. Another way to size air conditioners is to determine the system size that is currently in place. The manufacturers do not list the air conditioner size on the unit. The system capacity will be coded into the model number of the outdoor unit. For example, model CKL24-1 is a 2 ton unit.

There are 12,000 Btu's per ton. The number 24 in the model number indicates the unit is 24,000 Btu's, divided by 12,000 Btu's per ton, equals 2 tons. 24,000 Btu's/12,000 Btu's per ton = 2 tons Use the following conversion information to determine your existing system size (use the system model number NOT the serial number) 18 = 1.5 tons 24 = 2 tons 30 = 2.5 tons 36 = 3 tons 42 = 3.5 tons 48 = 4 tons 60 = 5 tons When sizing air conditioners, be careful not to make the mistake of getting one that is too large. If the system you install is too large for the space, it will short cycle. In other words, the compressor will not run long enough to dehumidify the space and will limit your comfort. In addition, it will cycle on and off more frequently, increasing operating costs and reducing the system life. Proper air conditioner sizing is critical to optimize performance. If you're still unsure which system size is right for you, or if you're having difficulty downloading the Air Conditioner Size Calculator , please e-mail us or call us toll free number at 1-855-634-5588.

Sizing air conditioners by phone is difficult but we can provide you with the tools to get you started.best buy ac window units Heating Square Footage Range by Climate Zonewho makes the best window ac units Use the lower of the two numbers if your home is well insulated and the higher number if it is older or poorly insulated. ac unit just stopped working(Hint: Use the larger of the two numbers above if you're unsure of your home's insulation) Simply multiply the appropriate factor above by your home's total heated square footage to arrive at your approximate required heating capacity. For example, if you live in the yellow zone, your home is well insulated, and you have 2000 heated square feet, the equation will look like this:

X .40 heating factor (from the chart above) 80,000 Btu actual output Then, to calculate the output on a gas furnace, multiply its efficiency rating by its listed input rating for the actual Btu output of heat. For example, if a furnace has a listed input rating of 100,000 Btu's and an efficiency rating of 80%, it will produce If the same 100,000 Btu furnace has an efficiency rating of 93% it will produce: 93,000 Btu actual output For this example, using an 80% efficient furnace, the 2000 square foot home above would require a 100,000 Btu input furnace which will produce the necessary 80,000 Btu's output of heat. If you're still unsure which system size is right for you, please e-mail us or call our toll free number at 1-855-634-5588. An experienced design technician will be happy to assist you. Variables such as your insulation, type and number of windows, number of stories, construction type, etc. will greatly affect the required Btu's per square for both heating and cooling.

A general rule of thumb is that if your home is well insulated with newer style windows, you can select the smaller size system that falls within your total square footage. If your home is two story it will place less of a load on the system in the downstairs area as the second floor acts as additional insulation. If your home is not well insulated, has older style windows, and/or a larger than average number of windows, you will want to select the larger system which falls within your square footage range. The less insulated and more windows within the environment, the more likely you will experience greater air and heat loss. Contact Us for More Info If you're still unsure which system size is right for you, or if you're having difficulty downloading the Air Conditioner Size Calculator, please e-mail us or call our toll free number at 1-855-634-5588. An experienced design technician will be happy to assist you.Choosing the type and kind of central air conditioning system to install in your home's heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system is complicated.

There are many physical factors about your home's cooling at play that directly affect the performance quality, efficiency, and the cost of how well a central air conditioning system will work in your home. You also must consider the wide variety of central air conditioning systems, as well as their size, efficiency, and installation requirements. So, it's no wonder that homeowners can get anxious when they want to know what size air conditioner they need for their home. Central air conditioning uses a compressor and condenser coil housed in an outside unit and an expansion valve and evaporator (also called an "A coil") mounted above the furnace heater inside your home's HVAC system. Air conditioning works by cycling refrigerant from gas to liquid and then to gas again through the use of pressure. The refrigerant (known as R-410A) begins the cycle as a low-pressure, low-temperature gas. It enters the outside unit where it's first compressed into a high-pressure, high-temperature gas.

Next it enters the condenser's coil where the fan cools the gas into a high pressure liquid. The liquefied refrigerant flows through tubing inside your home to the HVAC unit. There it first enters the expansion valve which limits the flow of the liquid as it enters the evaporator. This valve lets the liquid expand inside the evaporator coil into a gas, chilling to about 7 degrees Celsius as air from the HVAC blower moves over the coil. The refrigerant then heads back to the outside unit as a low-temperature, low-pressure gas to begin the cycle again. Air is cooled by being blown over the chilled coil, and it's then circulated throughout your home. The AC system continues running until the desired temperature is reached. Any humidity in the air condenses onto the coil as water and drips into a condensation pan. In this way, your home is both cooled and de-humidified by a central air conditioning system. Choosing the correct size of your air conditioner is a key a factor for setting up a home cooling system.

Sizing an air conditioner requires a consultation with a professional Energy Management Consultant who looks at the factors that effect your home's cooling: Likewise, it's not a simple matter of dropping-in any air conditioning system. The size is very important because the correctly sized air conditioner should run a proper full cycle and ensure your home stays cooler longer. An over-sized AC system will quickly over-cool the air in your home and shut off too soon. However, the building structure itself (walls, wood, furniture, etc.) will not be cooled adequately and allow heat and humidity to creep back in, and the AC will kick-on again and again. As a consequence, over-sized systems run for too short a time far too often. And it can cost you far too much. An undersized system, however, will not effectively cool your entire home. It will run continuously, waste energy, and wind up costing you more. Air conditioner sizes are rated in tons of cooling capacity. One ton of cooling is equal to 12,000 BTU's (British thermal units) per hour.

For example, a typical residential unit is a 2-ton unit that cools 24000 BTU/hour and a larger 3-ton unit cools 36000 BTU/hour. While two air conditioners be the same tonnage, they could be completely different in terms of their energy efficiency or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio(SEER) . Once you have found the right tonnage-size to cool your home, you'll want to look over which ones have the best SEER rating as is practical within your budget. The higher the rating, the less energy it will use - roughly 5% less per SEER. So an older 12 SEER upgraded to a higher efficiency SEER 16 will be approximately 20% more efficient and will cost less to run. Systems that are Energy Star qualified range between 12 and 23 SEER. Because air conditioning is one of the most expensive conveniences you can have in your home, it's important to be able to rely on a trained professional that you can trust to listen to your needs and guide you through this complex process. Direct Energy's central AC sizing experts have years of design and installation experience.