Choosing the Right Air Conditioner for Your Home

Choosing an air conditioner for your home is a very important choice. You want something that can effective cool your entire home in the hot summer months, without spiking your power bill. The right air conditioner for you and your home will depend on a number of different factors, including how much space you have to house the conditioner, what format you prefer, and how large your house is. Here are the steps you will need to follow to ensure you pick the perfect air conditioner:

1. Get out your measuring tape and measure each room that needs to be cooled. You want to know the total square footage that will be cooled by your new air conditioner. If you have an oddly shaped room, break it into simply geometric shapes so that you can get the most accurate measurement. As a reference, you find the square footage of a square or rectangular room by multiplying the length by the width, and of a triangular area by multiplying the length by the width and dividing the product in half.
2. If you are getting central air conditioning, you will need to measure every single room in your home, not just the specific rooms that you would cool with a more specific system. This means that each room will need to be measured and the square footage calculated. If you do not want to measure, the department that handles your property tax or a surveyor that has appraised your home would likely have this calculation.
3. Now that you have the total square feet that will need to be cooled (either the specific rooms or the house in total), you will need to figure out how many British Thermal Units of cooling capacity you will need. The U.S. Department of Energy has provided the following guide:

• 100 sq. – 300 sq. ft.: 5,000 to 7,000 BTU
• 300 sq. – 550 sq. ft.: 8,000 to 12,000 BTU
• 550 sq. – 1,000 sq. ft.: 14,000 to 18,000 BTU
• 1,000 sq. – 1,200 sq. ft.: 21,000 to 24,000 BTU
• 1,500 sq. – 2,000 sq. ft.: 30,000 BTU
• 2,000 sq. – 2,500 sq. ft.: 34,000 BTU

1. Bring this information to Absolute Precision Plumbing, Heating & Air, so that we can find a unit that fulfills these requirements, without breaking the bank.

For more information about air conditioners or to set up your consultations, call Absolute Precision Plumbing, Heating & Air today.