Before we get into sizing a residential central air unit lets take a quick look at pricing.
Central air conditioner size.
The most common type of central air conditioning is the split system which features a large boxy condenser outside the home and a fan and coil system inside connected by pipes carrying refrigerant.
The sizing chart below is useful to help you determine your approximate central air conditioner size requirements.
On average homeowners report spending 3 900 5 000 to install a 2 5 ton central air system in a house that has functional ductwork.
Central ac unit cost.
But your hvac dealer only has air conditioners that handle 24 000 or 30 000 btus.
Fixing or changing the ductwork to accommodate the ac system can add as much as 3 000 4 000 to the total price.
In regards to cooling 1 ton is equal to 12 000 btu s british thermal units.
Many central air conditioner models come in multiple sizes so you can choose the most appropriate one for your home s square footage.
The question cannot be answered by the square footage of the house or the number of vents.
For more answers to questions like this visit the asm air conditioning blog.
Obviously a smaller area room or house with shorter lengths and widths require fewer btus to cool heat.
Single room air conditioner size calculator chart.
As for air conditioning in homes even though acs are meant to cool homes btus on the technical label refer to how much heat the air conditioner can remove from their respective surrounding air.
Central air conditioning unit size.
The cooling capacity of an air conditioner is measured in tons.
If a central ac unit is too small it wastes energy and struggles to produce consistent cooling on the hottest days.
You need to take into account the size of the room the number and size of windows the height of the ceilings and the climate.
I hope you have found this article on what size central air conditioner to buy for your house somewhat helpful.
Bradley the necessary size for your air conditioner depends on what climate you live in the insulation air leakage and windows of your house.
Chat with or call one of our factory trained advisors to help get you the answers you need.
As you get closer to buying don t hesitate to use our central air conditioner size calculator.
For example the manual j calculation may say you need 25 000 btus for cooling.
Final thoughts on what size central air conditioner to buy.
Sometimes the dealer may not have your exact btu size but don t worry.
If you still need help don t worry.
If your btu requirement is between sizes simply go with the bigger unit.