(NC)—Contrary to popular belief, an air conditioner does not cool by adding cool air to your home. It cools primarily by removing heat and moisture from the air.
Canadian residents might also be surprised to hear that larger capacity units may actually result in less effective cooling for their homes.
“It's important to have all the facts when replacing your central air conditioning or heat pump system,” says Martin Luymes at HRAI, the Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Institute of Canada. “After all, you will be relying on this system to maintain the comfort of your home comfort for many years to come.”
A central air conditioning system has two key components, an outdoor (condensing) unit and an indoor (evaporator coil) unit.
“This is why these systems are often referred to as “split” systems,” Luymes explained. “The two components are designed to work together as a team to provide maximum efficiency and comfort. When you install a new air conditioning system in your home, it is important to ensure that the outdoor unit is properly “matched” to the indoor unit. Failing to replace one of the components, or not properly matching the two units may result in substandard performance. You may save some money up front, but your home will not be as comfortable and the desired energy (and cost) savings will not be realized. The system may also fail prematurely, causing added aggravation.”
According to Luymes, it is also very important to ensure that your air conditioning system is properly “sized” to meet the cooling needs of your home.
“Contractors should perform a proper “heat gain” calculation to determine the amount of cooling required. While under-sizing the system will result in insufficient cooling when you need it most, over-sizing of the system can lead to a number of unexpected problems, including uneven cooling in the home, rapid fluctuations in temperature, premature system wear and tear, and less than optimal energy efficiency.”
Residential air conditioning systems should always be installed and maintained by a qualified, licensed, and well-trained technician who will ensure and can verify that the system has been sized and matched properly.
- News Canada