What Size Air Conditioner Do I Need for My Home?

Air conditioners usually need replacing after they’re about 12 years old. When you get a new one, it’s important that you get one for the right size for your home. But how do you know what is the right size?

British Thermal Units

The cooling industry uses British Thermal Units, or BTUs, to rate the cooling capacity of air conditioners. One BTU will raise the heat of one pound of water by 1 degree. Therefore, each BTU an air conditioner produces translates into how much warm air it can remove from your home per hour.

Determine Your Home’s Square Footage

If you don’t know how many square feet your home is, there are online sources to help. Try your county’s assessor’s webpage. You can also find this information on Zillow. Failing those options, you will need to measure each room of your home and add them together.

Multiply by 20

One good rule of thumb is to multiply the square footage of your home by 20. This will give you a general sense of how many BTUs an air conditioner needs to have to properly cool your home.

Load Calculation

Heating and cooling companies perform a load calculation to determine the size of the air conditioner that is right for your home. They have access to online platforms that takes several factors into account to ensure you get the right-sized system.

What if I Get an Air Conditioner Too Big or Small?

An oversized air conditioner will cool your home too quickly. This isn’t efficient and can cause humidity problems. If an air conditioner is too small, it will run constantly. This will also cost you money and cause other problems.

If you live near Solon, OH, KW Lang Mechanical will help you get the right size air conditioner. Other services we offer include repair and tune-up of all makes and models. We’re also a heating company and offer green technologies like water source heat pumps. Please call today to schedule an appointment.