Small Air Conditioner Small Air Conditioner

Small Air Conditioners: Efficiency

 Small Air Conditioners: Increasing Efficiency With Smaller Units

See Also: Top Rated Energy Star Air Conditioners

Uneven cooling can cause great discomfort, high energy
bills, and inferior mixing of house air. The homeowner
complains about living in a cave-like atmosphere, cold and
damp.

So when old units need to be replaced, many air
conditioning contractors will purposely over size the new
unit, aiming to provide the customer quickly with cool air.
Then the customer is even more unhappy than before!
Sometimes though, the air conditioner can be correctly
sized and still produce uneven cooling and air mixture. The
contractor should check to see if the cooling distribution
system (air ducts, grilles, filters, etc) will run efficiently with
the new system. If the cooling distribution system is too
small for even a correctly sized air unit, then the air will be
pushed out quickly and perhaps cause the thermostat to
shut off. On the other hand, if the cooling distribution system
is too large for the new unit, the air flow may not
reach to all rooms or may even fail to cool the areas around
the registers.
When the air conditioner and cooling distribution systems
do not match in size, then large amounts of air can be
pushed through and over the air conditioning grilles, creating
uncomfortably sharp blasts of cold air to come from
the air vents. Thus, smaller rooms will become chilly while
larger rooms may be still warm. It is important to figure
the cooling load of the overall house or office, as well as
the individual rooms, and match up a properly sized air
conditioner with a cooling distribution system that can handle
the airflow evenly.