Central air conditioning systems are a luxury in some areas of North America and a basic necessity in others. It is in your best interest to understand how to choose the right system for your home, and how to maintain it for optimal use.
The most common system is called a “split system” because part of it (the condenser) is located outside the house, and part (the evaporator) is located inside. The evaporator is mounted inside an air handler, a blower that circulates air throughout the house.
For forced-air heating, the furnace acts as the air handler. In these cases, the evaporator is simply mounted on top of the furnace.
SEER stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.
It designates the efficiency rating of air conditioning systems. A 14 SEER air conditioner is more efficient than a 10 SEER unit. Since January 2006, manufacturers are no longer permitted to manufacture air conditioning systems with a SEER less than 13.
The 13 SEER system is much larger physically than older systems. If you are replacing a failed older system, the new evaporator may not fit into the old air handler, or even into the space it once occupied. The ducting can be modified to fit the new evaporator, but in some cases the entire air handler (or furnace) may have to be replaced.
CAPACITYsizing is very important. Installers traditionally err on the side of over sizing a system to avoid client complaints on the hottest day of the summer. A larger-than-necessary system will not function optimally. It will cool the house off quickly and then shut off. These short on-cycles are not good because:
Here is what you can learn from these statistics
• Most air conditioning systems take about seven minutes of operation to reach peak efficiency.
• An oversized system will operate at a fraction of its rated efficiency, costing more to operate than it should.
• The central air conditioning system also dehumidifies the home. If the on-cycles are short, you get little dehumidification. The result is a cold and clammy home.
Choosing the appropriate capacity for the air conditioning system requires a skilled and experienced air conditioning contractor that can do a heat gain calculation for your home.
Like any system in your home, a central air conditioner will work at its peak efficiency and performance when it is properly fitted for capacity and regularly maintained.
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