Why the Size of Your AC Matters

Have you ever heard the phrase “bigger is better?” Well, that might apply to certain things in life, like ordering a pizza or purchasing a television, but it doesn’t work for air conditioners. It might be obvious to think of a larger air conditioner as a better thing for your home, but it could lead to more problems than a system that’s precisely sized for your home. We’ll explain down below.

Air conditioning in Slidell, LA, is complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. We’re going to walk you through why the size of your air conditioner matters, but we’re also available to help if you need a technician. Our team operates with reliability, and our technicians are certified. We’ll be able to provide necessary AC repairs, replacement, and maintenance depending on what you need.

Let’s evaluate the size of your AC and figure out why bigger isn’t always better.

Signs Your AC Is Undersized for Your Home

When you’ve got an air conditioner that’s too small, it will struggle to even get the bare amount of cooling done in your home. This means that your thermostat setting won’t matter, since the system will run extended cycles just to cool your home’s space by a couple of degrees.

This can be even worse when you’ve recently added new additions to your home, or you’ve closed in a porch with insulation, because your old air conditioner is still designed to cool the previous amount of air volume in your home. A new room, a finished basement, or an enclosed porch adds hundreds of cubic feet in air volume to be cooled, and that’s going to increase the strain on your already stressed-out, small AC unit.

Is Your Oversized AC Hurting Efficiency?

So, an AC that’s too large should solve these problems, right? Well, not really. If your air conditioner is too large, it’s going to cool the air in your home too quickly. This then means that the system will short cycle.

Short cycling refers to an AC that uses a tremendous amount of energy to start up (which is the most energy-intensive part of the cooling process) only to cool a space too quickly and shut down abruptly. Then, it will have to repeat the process in a few minutes, making this a frequent occurrence that can lead to more stress on the system and problems in comfort or efficiency. Short cycling is never a good sign and is one of the top indicators that your system is oversized.

A short cycling air conditioner is not good, and if your AC is too large for your home, it will likely start short cycling.

How to Choose the Perfectly Sized AC Unit

When your AC is appropriately sized for your home, it’s going to work to cool the precise amount of air that it’s supposed to and run a nominal cycle. This means it will reach peak performance levels while also consuming as little energy as possible.

When we talk about an air conditioner running with high efficiency, this is what we’re talking about. For more insight into how AC sizing plays a role in long-term savings and reliable performance, check out the three essential rules of AC replacement.

If you’re worried that your AC is either too large or too small, make sure you call us for an evaluation.

You can always get in touch with the pros at Natal's Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Electrical. Service Honoring the Golden Rule.

Ryan Swafford

HVAC Operations Manager

My name is Ryan Swafford, I serve as the HVAC Operations Manager at Call Natal’s. With over 13 years of hands-on experience in the trades, I’ve had the privilege of working across both residential and specialized environments.

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