When Comfort Now installs a new air conditioner and furnace into your new or remodeled home we take time take all of the steps in order to insure a proper installation.  For every install we follow a specific set of codes and procedures that provide the most comfort and most efficient air conditioning and heating system for your home.  First, we perform an Air Conditioner Contractors of America Manual J heat load calculation. A heat load calculation accurately  measures the amount heat an air conditioner will need to remove or a furnace introduce to keep your home comfortable. This eliminates over sizing or under sizing heating and cooling equipment.

Contractors are not required to perform a heat load calculation before installing your air conditioner or furnace.  Without a heat load calculation they are guessing the size of your air conditioner based on a rule of thumb that mostly ends up over sizing your air conditioning unit.

Oversized Equipment Fails To keep You Comfortable AND Cost You More!

Your air conditioner being sized larger then needed for the heat load of your house doesn’t sound like the end of the world. More is better right? When your air conditioner is over sized its more powerful fan will cycle the air faster and cool the air down to your set temperature before it cools the walls of your house or removes humidity from the air. Your house will feel humid. This also causes the air conditioner to short cycle. Since the air conditioner uses lots of energy to start up, this will hurt your electricity bill. Bigger air conditioners also use more electricity while they are running as well. When you replace an air conditioner with a larger size without upsizing the ducts the larger fan on a larger unit will try to push too much air and it can create loud a “wind” noise. Larger units cost more to install, cost more to run, and cost more to maintain.

All Houses’ Air Conditioner and Furnace Needs are Different

There are three major considerations that effect the heat load of a house. Design conditions such as the outside humidity, and temperature. The orientation of the house and the construction of the house. When we calculate the heat load for your air conditioning and heating system we take into account all the variables that will effect the operation of your air conditioning or furnace unit. First, we take into account the square footage of your house along with the insulation in your walls and ceiling. Then we look at how many windows your house has and their orientation compared to the sun. We also take into consideration your heat producing appliances and how many people are living in the space.

When a contractor does not use a manual J Heat load calculation before installing a unit; he is just guessing based on the square footage of your house alone. With new insulation and window technology this method usually over sizes the unit. Manual J is not the end to installing a high performing highly efficient air conditioner. It is just a good base to work from. Our air conditioning and heating design software helps us design a system that will make you comfortable now, using all of the ACCA codes and procedures.

• Manual J – Calculation of heat load in summer and heat loss in winter.
• Manual S – Sizing of the equipment based on sensible and latent BTUs.
• Manual T – Select size and locate supply air diffusers, grilles, registers, and return grilles.
• Manual D – Sizing the ducts to deliver the correct supply of air.

By using sophisticated design software we are able to engineer a perfectly operating air conditioning system that works as efficiently as possible to keep you comfortable. All this adds up to a unit that is designed to last, has lower life time costs, and provides the ideal environment for your family.  A properly designed air conditioning system is not the end of the story. When we install a unit we don’t cut any corners or leave any stoned unturned.

Most Air Conditioning Installs Need an Air Balance

Does your house have a room that just feels hotter then the rest? Even with the best designed air conditioning systems the air supply to an individual room can be off causing your system to perform poorly and make you uncomfortable. When we install a new air conditioning system we check each register with a flow hood that measures the amount of air coming out of the register. If there is not enough air coming out of a register that room will not be maintained at a comfortable temperature. When we install a unit we give all supply ducts volume dampeners. Then with a flow hood we verify the CFM coming out of the registers and balance the duct system with the dampeners to achieve the calculated cfm that room would need. This insures that each room can be maintained at a comfortable temperature.

Another common problem in any air conditioning install, especially replacement air conditioners is air duct loss. Aging systems or houses built under different codes often have air ducts that actually leak air into unconditioned spaces reducing the efficiency of your air conditioner or furnace. 

Most A/C and Furnace Ducts Leak Air

According to the Department of Energy, the average duct systems looses are between 25% and 40% of its total air. That is money spent down the drain. When we install a new or replacement air conditioning system we check your ducts for leaks and seal them with UL listed duct sealant. We will replace any damaged ducts, and seal the inside of your new air conditioner to your existing ducts. In most homes the majority of the leaks actually come from gaps between the dry wall of your ceiling and the supply boot hidden by your register.  This gap blows air straight into your attic. In every install we go through each register and seal the inside of that boot.  It doesn’t matter how efficient your air conditioner or furnace operates when 40% of the air it works on is lost.

Finding the Right A/C Contractor Is More Important Then Ever

Every year air conditioning manufactures are coming out with more efficient equipment. They are on the bleeding edge of what a heating and cooling system can achieve in performance and efficiency. The truth is that with today’s systems if that unit is not installed correctly, it will be less efficient then the older system that it replaced. If you are installing a new unit, hoping to offset the cost of the old one by reducing your electric bill, and that new air conditioner isn’t sized correctly, or the ducts aren’t sized correctly, or the ducts have too many leaks then that new unit will have a higher operating cost then the old unit. Your house will have a problem with mold, high humidity, poor air quality, and you just won’t be comfortable. An air conditioning unit is a big investment into your house and doesn’t it make sense to make sure it is installed correctly?

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