How the Wrong Size HVAC System Can Cause Problems

Check out the dangers of putting in the wrong capacity HVAC equipment. Find out why wear and tear increases and comfort decreases if your HVAC system is too small or too large for your needs.

When putting an air conditioner into your home or commercial building, you need to ensure that you select a unit with the right cooling capacity. Whether too big or too small, the wrong size HVAC system can cause a variety of problems, including the following.

1. Reduced Comfort

An excessively small air conditioner or heater cannot cool or heat your living or work space effectively. As a result, you may end up feeling uncomfortably hot or cold all the time, and, areas far from vents or indoor air handling units are especially prone to becoming uncomfortable.

If your HVAC equipment is too large, it’s going to cycle on and off aggressively. As a result, you end up with a commercial or residential space that feels too cold one moment and too warm the next.

2. Excessive Humidity Levels

In humid areas, air conditioners help to lower the humidity in your home, but the wrong size system can’t maintain comfortable humidity levels. Basically, as air passes over your air conditioner’s evaporator coils, the cold coil condenses water vapor from the air because its temperature is lower than the dew point of the air. Then, those water droplets drip into the condensate pan. As this process happens, the humidity levels in your home drop.

However, in order for this to happen, the air conditioner has to run for a while. If your AC is too large, it doesn’t have to run for that long to cool your home, and as a result, it doesn’t end up removing enough water vapor from the air. By extension, you have to deal with uncomfortable humidity levels in your home or office, or you have to invest in a separate dehumidifier.

3. Unnecessary Wear and Tear

If your heater or air conditioner doesn’t have adequate capacity, it is going to run constantly in an attempt to heat or cool your home, and that causes excessive wear and tear on your cooling equipment. When your air conditioner has too large of a capacity, it turns on and off all the time, which also leads to an excessive amount of wear and tear. In both situations, this increases the need for repairs and leads to a shorter lifespan for your cooling equipment.

4. High Energy Bills

HVAC equipment that is too small runs all the time and drives up your energy bills; when the equipment is too large, that also decreases efficiency and drives up energy bills. Air conditioners, in particular, need power for the motors that run components like the compressor and the blower. These motors use more power to start up than to run. If your system is cycling on and off too often, the motors end up using more energy than they would if they cycled on and off at the appropriate times.

5. Diminished Property Value

Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are an important part of homes and commercial buildings. A quality system that runs efficiently and is relatively new can help to increase the value of your property. However, if your system is the wrong capacity and you are selling your property, prospective buyers may want to replace the system, and that can potentially diminish the value of your home or lower the price they’re willing to offer.

To determine the right size HVAC equipment for your needs, your residential or commercial HVAC contractor looks at the amount of space that you need heated and cooled, but they also take into account the layout of your home or business, the number and location of windows and doors, insulation levels, the condition of your ductwork, heat generating activities or equipment, the impact of passive solar heat gain, and multiple other factors.

To ensure you get the right size HVAC system for your needs, you need to work with an experienced HVAC contractor who understands how to select the right capacity unit. At N.E.T.R., Inc., we work closely with residential and commercial clients to repair, service, and install air conditioners, and we look forward to helping you find the right size HVAC equipment. Contact us today to find out more.

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