Most homeowners are ill-equipped to deal
with the major systems that make their houses comfortable and functional.
Considering the amount of knowledge and experience required to become a
licensed plumber, electrician, or HVAC technician, just for example, this
really isn't very surprising. And while the truly enterprising weekend warrior
might bust out the tools and the home repair guide and get to work flushing the
water heater, changing out lighting fixtures, and replacing the furnace filter,
most of us simply call in the pros when something goes wrong. And when your AC
unit goes kaput, the last thing you're likely to do is replace it yourself.
That said, there are some things you'll need to consider before you choose a
new model. And your HVAC technician can help you find the right product for
your home if you know what questions to ask. Here are a few basics for any
homeowner looking to upgrade their AC system.
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The first issue to address is the unit
itself, and there are a couple of concerns. For starters, you want to make sure
you get the right size of unit for your home, which is to say, a model that
offers the appropriate capacity for your square footage. Any HVAC technician
worth his salt should be able to warn you off units that are too large or too
small for your home. But it never hurts to ask. If you end up with a unit that
is improperly sized you'll either burn it out trying to cool your home or end
up paying way too much for your energy bill and potentially facing issues with
condensation and leakage. The point is that you need to make sure your new unit
is the right size, and this is especially important if your home has had any
additions that would increase the square footage (meaning you likely wouldn't
want the same size unit you had before).
You should also ask about energy efficiency
and pollution. Old-school AC units are notorious for using a refrigerant called
Freon, a chlorofluorocarbon responsible for ozone depletion. Most newer models
have switched to fluorine-based (rather than chlorine) refrigerants as a means
of doing less harm to the environment. And of course, you'll definitely want a
modern unit that is as energy efficient as possible, which probably means
selecting a model that offers 2-stage or variable speed cooling, as opposed to
single-stage operation.
Whereas single-stage units run at 100%
capacity every time you turn them on, a 2-stage product will work at a little
more than half capacity when you only need to adjust the temperature a couple
of degree and then bump up to full capacity for larger leaps in cooling. A
variable speed, on the other hand, varies by demand, but keeps running at low
capacity even when the desired temperature is reached, ensuring that fresh air
is always cycling through your home, improving your interior air quality in the
process.
That said, your job isn't quite done yet.
While you're upgrading your AC, you might also want to perform a heating system comparison to ensure that all of your HVAC
equipment meets your many needs. And you should certainly add a programmable
thermostat to the mix if you don't already have one so that you can set an
appropriate schedule for heating and cooling your home. You may even want to
include a zoning system to optimize your entire HVAC system and keep your home
environment as comfortable as possible. With the right AC system in place you
can increase comfort and savings while cutting your carbon footprint. It's a
tall order, but when you know the basics you should be able to meet all your
goals.
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