How do I know where to buy the right size air conditioner?
A. Follow these tips for buying the right size air conditioner. Dont use a contractor who wants to size your unit solely on the square footage of your house or building. Contractors should calculate how much cooling home or business needs according to guidelines such as the Air Conditioning Contractors of Americas manual J. To gather the information necessary, a contactor should spend about an hour poking around your house, taking measurements in each room, and asking questions. He or she needs ot measure floors, ceilings and walls including all the windows, – and check insulation in the attic, walls, and crawlspaces. Some other factors that go into the cooling load formula include indoor and outdoor temperatures, direction orientation, number of occupants, shading, siding, and roof color. Insist on getting a copy of the cooling load calculations (or computer printout). These can be useful in comparing bids from contractors. Question the contractor if the calculations do not include at
