| We want to be clear on sizing – we don’t | | | | tremendous amount of time trying to convince |
| care what size furnace you currently have | | | | potential furnace buyers to purchase smaller |
| because almost all gas furnaces are considerably | | | | furnaces. We do this because we know the |
| oversized. Oversized furnaces use more fuel, | | | | buyers will be more comfortable and save money |
| reduce home comfort and wear out faster than | | | | on their energy bills with a properly sized furnace. |
| properly sized furnaces. Why, because they cycle | | | | Please remember there is no gain for heating and |
| too often - they’re constantly going on and | | | | air conditioning specialists to sell you a smaller |
| off. This cycling increases stress on the heat | | | | furnace; we just want your furnace to work |
| exchanger and simply reduces the life of the | | | | efficiently and comfortably. Also, a performance |
| other components because of the frequency of | | | | guarantee assures you that your furnace will not |
| their operation while at the same time wasting | | | | be undersized. |
| gas. | | | | Sizing an air conditioner is a fairly simple process. |
| A properly sized furnace is critical to system | | | | Some HVAC service contractor’s use what is |
| longevity and personal comfort. How do you size | | | | known as a manual J load calculation to determine |
| a furnace for a house - there are a couple of | | | | the air conditioner size that a home requires. While |
| ways. Some contractor’s use what is known | | | | this is a good way to size an air cooling system |
| as a manual J load calculation to determine the | | | | for a house under construction where all the |
| size furnace a home needs. While this is a good | | | | insulation values and the tightness of the home |
| way to size a system for a house under | | | | are known, it can be fairly inaccurate when cooling |
| construction where all the insulation values and the | | | | existing structures. The best way to determine |
| tightness of the home are known, it can be fairly | | | | the correct air conditioning system size for your |
| inaccurate on existing structures. Other | | | | home is to access how well the old system |
| contractors rely on their years of experience in | | | | worked. If your old system did the job in cooling, |
| the business. This method is probably the most | | | | your new system will do the same job more |
| suspect and will usually result in an over sized | | | | efficiently. |
| system. | | | | If you are unsure of your central air |
| When determining the size of your furnace, | | | | system’s size, simply look at the nameplate |
| compare three critical aspects of your home: the | | | | on the outdoor AC unit. Almost all air conditioner |
| square footage, the age, and the configuration. | | | | manufactures put the Btu rating in the model |
| The configuration is defined as ranch, two story, | | | | number. One ton of cooling is equal to 12,000 |
| bi level, slab – with or without a basement, or | | | | Btu’s. Most units start at 2 ton, or 24,000 |
| contemporary. Using this data we can calculate | | | | btu’s and increase in half ton increments, |
| the anticipated heat loss of your home and | | | | skipping 4-1/2 ton. |
| choose a furnace that will maximize your comfort | | | | Sometimes you have to do a little detective work |
| and minimize your utility cost. One other factor | | | | to find the Btu number because there is no set |
| that can help size your furnace, believe it or not, | | | | location within the AC model number and it varies |
| is your air conditioner. Our program can take the | | | | by manufacturer. If you can’t figure it out, |
| size of your central air conditioner and calculate | | | | contact a heating and cooling specialist with the |
| the size of the furnace your home needs using | | | | number and see if they can provide you with the |
| some fairly simple mathematics. | | | | system size. |
| Heating and cooling specialists often spend a | | | | |