There really is no “off season” for air conditioning in Florida. Even during the winter, we expect to have air conditioners humming away some days. However, winter does present the best opportunity to arrange for the replacement of an old air conditioning system, or the installation of the first AC for a new house.
You should always have professionals perform the installation/replacement so you can avoid a number of major mistakes homeowners often make with ACs. In this post, we’ll look at the biggest error an amateur can make when it comes to installing a new cooling system.
A bigger air conditioner isn’t a better air conditioner
You want great cooling for your home. And what better way to have it than to install the most powerful air conditioner you can afford and that will fit in your house?
There is a better way, however, which is not to do this!
We understand the appeal of installing an immensely powerful AC in a house. It seems like a good idea. However, an overpowered air conditioner will turn into a major problem because of something called short-cycling.
Short-cycling is behavior from an air conditioner or heat pump where the system turns on and off rapidly, getting trapped in the start-up cycle. An oversized AC will lower the temperature in a building so quickly that the thermostat will detect that the system has completed its cooling cycle—even though it hasn’t—and prematurely stop the cycle. A short time later, the cycle will restart, and repeat the process over and over.
Short-cycling places immense strain on an air conditioner because the start-up cycle drains the most power of any part of the system’s operation. Your bills with skyrocket and the AC will wear down rapidly, suffering from numerous repairs and eventually an early replacement. On top of all this, the on-and-off action will mean poor distribution of cool air through the house.
Professionals will perform a heat load calculation to determine the right size of air conditioner to install. Let them handle the job, and you’ll end up with the indoor cooling you need.
Southeast Air & Heat has a team of great air conditioning installation professionals. Call us to arrange for a new AC in Conway, FL and the surrounding areas.
