If you have the wrong cooling system at home, you can expect problems. Before you purchase a cooling system for your house, consider the pointers mentioned below. By doing so, you can be comfortable for many years to come.
Common Types of Cooling Methods
There are three major categories of cooling systems in the USA: fans, air-conditioning units, and swamp coolers. If you live in Utah, a central AC unit is your best option. Park City has arid summers but very cold winters.
Ventilation systems are the most affordable option for cooling a house, but they are not suitable for hot or humid climates. Coolers, on the other hand, are best for areas with low humidity, such as states in the southwest.
Choosing the Right Size
The size of a cooling system refers to the rate at which it supplies heating or cooling to your home and not how physically small or big it is. If you have a system that is too small, cooling your entire house will put too much stress on the unit. This will result in higher utility bills and unnecessary wear and tear on the system itself. Choosing a bigger unit will not answer the problem. If your cooling system is too big for your house, it can make your electricity bill higher than usual.
If you want to know the proper size of your cooling system, your contractor needs to calculate the “load” of your home. The load is the cooling capacity of an air conditioning system. It depends on the size of your house, its building material, the number and sizes of the rooms, the orientation of the sun, the climate, the number of floors, the types of doors and windows, and the “R” value of your insulation.
The Importance of an Appropriate Cooling System
A cooling load consists of two parts: the sensible load, which is air temperature, and the latent load, which is air moisture or humidity. A higher sensible load leads to a higher latent load, and the same thing happens if one is lower. The two should be at the same level.
To explain it more, imagine a big cooling system that cools a room very quickly. And because the temperature starts to become colder than your liking, you tweak the thermostat but not entirely turn it off. The cool temperature can't be maintained long enough to remove the humidity in the room.
This scenario poses two problems. First, because the cooling unit is running longer, your electricity bill increases. Second, because there is still moisture in the air, mold and other related problems can damage your house. If you have a cooling system that has the right size, it can remove the moisture in any room.
With all that said, it’s not an overwhelming task to choose and buy a new cooling system for your home. With the right information, you can pick the perfect device to suit your family’s needs. Consult a professional if you feel uncertain.
