What makes one air conditioning system better than the next? Is one brand of air conditioner better than the other? Does a higher efficiency system make it better than a lower efficiency unit? What is it that can make or break a system?
When many people decide that they need to buy a new, or replace their air conditioning unit they may start by doing a search for the dealer that installs the brand name that they are most familiar with. Or they may just pick the dealer that is closest to them. Maybe they just ask their friends who they would recommend.
A few lessons on air conditioners first. There are only a few manufacturers of compressors, the most important part of the unit. It is very likely the brand A, B, or C all will have the same brand compressor inside.
Next, the coil configurations of many brands are basically the same. Making little difference there, also.
The physical sizes are very similar per ton. The indoor units often are so identical that you have to look at the label to see who made it. Often times different brands are made on the same assembly line and different labels are attached to the units as needed to fill the orders of a particular company.
What is the most important part of an air conditioning system installation? It is the human factor. Does the person that looks at your house and sizes the unit know what they are doing? If you called company X and they ask you the square footage of your house and then said you needed Y unit, make that is the last time you talk to them. There is no way anyone and do a correct installation that way. If the sales person came out to the house and stood across the street with three fingers up and then told you that a three ton unit was what you needed then give them the boot!
To size a heating or air conditioning unit properly a complete heat loss/gain calculation is needed. To do this properly some experience is helpful and detailed numbers are a must. The r value of the insulation in the house is needed. The door and window sizes are very important. The condition of the doors and windows are a very critical factor. The orientation of the windows can make a very big difference. Large southwest facing windows can increase a cooling load by tons. The location of a building will also be a very big factor. Obviously a house in Florida will need to have more cooling than a house in Maine. The point is that you should insist on a detailed heat loss/gain calculation along with every quote. They will vary some from program to program and from differences in the human input to the programs. You should be able to get a good idea of what you after seeing a few different ones. Throw out the extremes and go with the average.
The other factor that is very important to consider is workmanship. The best air conditioning system installed incorrectly is still junk. If the copper piping from the condenser to the air handler is not sized correctly or is not installed properly the system will not work right or last long. Maybe even more important is the quality of the ductwork that distributes the heating or cooling to the building. If the tape that holds the joints together comes apart and allows the ductwork to leak then you are now heating or cooling unwanted areas. Sometimes as big as the outside. Now that will mess with your efficiency and not exactly in a good way. So make sure that the workmanship on the ductwork in up to the highest standards. Many times after the installation it can be very difficult to repair leaking ductwork at all. Good quality repairs are just not going to happen. If the ductwork in metal the same goes. Metal can also have many leaks if it is not formed or installed correctly. I have seen many hack jobs over the years with both ductboard and metal.
My experience with heating and air conditioning systems has taught me that even the best equipment can be ruined by a poor installation. Finding the right contractor to do your installation may take some time. You may have to wait to get the contractor that will do the best work for you. Overall the wait will be worth it. Even if a good contractor has higher prices to install your air conditioning system it will be worth it in the long run. Your energy costs will be much lower over the lifetime of the system.
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