High-efficiency air conditioners can offer significant energy savings over their lifetimes, but care needs to be taken for these savings to be realized. An air conditioner’s seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) is established with it operating under ideal conditions. To get the same performance in your home, your HVAC contractor will need to pay close attention to four installation factors that need to be handled correctly in order to obtain the rated SEER efficiency of your new air conditioner:
Duct leakage
Improperly installed or maintained ductwork is often the largest contributor to cooling system inefficiency. Ductwork leaks will allow conditioned air to leak into areas where it won’t do any good. It can also allow pollutants to enter the air stream. Use duct mastic or a quality metal-backed tape to ensure that duct joints are properly sealed. Additionally, ducts may experience thermal leakage if they pass through unconditioned spaces, and should be well insulated in such areas.
Leakage in your ductwork may also lead to pressure imbalances. This can cause areas of your home to become drafty or too cold or warm. Unbalanced flow may also be caused by poor ductwork design. Well-designed ductwork will ensure unobstructed airflow between supply and return vents. The easiest way to accomplish this is by including supply and return vents in every room. If this is not the case, wall or door grilles should be used to ensure unobstructed flow.
Airflow
To provide the appropriate amount of cooling, the evaporator coil in your new air conditioner needs to have the correct rate of airflow. For this reason, it’s important that your air handler is an appropriate match for the other components. Models that are not equipped with a thermal expansion valve that can modulate the flow of refrigerant are especially vulnerable to efficiency losses. Ductwork issues can also cause airflow problems. These are some common issues:
- Ducts that are not of sufficient size.
- Improperly designed ductwork that restricts airflow, such as ductwork with too many turns.
- Poorly designed or obstructed grilles.
- Obstructions in the ductwork, such as an excessive accumulation of dust or debris.
3. Refrigerant charge
Air conditioners need the correct refrigerant charge. Similar to improper airflow, air conditioners without a thermal expansion valve will suffer efficiency losses. Refrigerant levels are frequently too high or too low, so it’s important that you have your HVAC technician check the charge and correct it if necessary. The charge the system needs will depend on the length of the refrigerant line, so this length needs to be accurately assessed. Systems with longer refrigerant lines are especially prone to being undercharged. Be aware, as well, that a low refrigerant charge may be the result of leaks in the system. These must be repaired.
4. Sizing
Obviously, you will want your new air conditioner to be large enough to keep you cool throughout the summer, but it shouldn’t be too big. Purchasing a new air conditioner that is too large can pose a number of problems:
- Short run-times: An excessively large air conditioner will only have to run briefly to cool your home. This means it’s not cooling long enough to dehumidify your home. Your home will feel clammy, and moisture and mildew could develop.
- Frequently switching on and off: Cycling on and off frequently is hard on components and will increase the wear on them. It also means that your home will be alternating between temperature extremes more frequently and spending less time at the ideal temperature.
- Higher costs. Larger air conditioners are costlier.
If you have any questions about new air conditioner installation, please contact us at James Lane Air Conditioning. We can help you select the system that’s ideal for your home, and then we can help you maintain it. Give us a call. We serve Wichita Falls area homeowners.
