I live in Southern California.. ft./3.5 tons Especially if you are willing to spend extra money on a premium brand name AC unit, such as Carrier, don’t try to squeeze a few hundred dollars of savings by hiring a sub-par installer. First locate the zone that your state is in, based on color: Next, look at the chart below, and find the appropriate zone as well as the square footage of your house. Don’t settle for a ball park estimate based on a quick visual assessment, as it will not be accurate. house. So while you will be saving money, you will not have the optimal temperature control. Likewise, a “2-ton” central air conditioner is able to cool 24,000 BTUs per hour. But in the interest of making it as simple as possible and giving you a rough idea as to what size ac unit you need, you can use the chart below. house divided by 600 = 3.6666. The best course of action is to hire a licensed installer who has a comprehensive, professionally designed HVAC calculator. Instead of subtracting 0.5, you will need to ADD it. It takes into account many different factors, some of which we mentioned previously in this article. Heat transfer between walls and through the concrete slab, Costs more upfront – you can overspend by about $800+, Doesn’t get rid of humidity as well as a properly sized unit, especially in very hot climates, Cycles on and off many times throughout the day, thereby creating more wear and tear on the unit, Will not keep your house at a comfortably cool temperature on the hottest days, Running all the time instead of cycling will drastically increase your electric bill. According to the government's Energy Star website, this is the base capacity needed for a 1,200 to 1,400 square feet … These are: Room height. If the contractor is not willing to do the initial assessment thoroughly, he is likely to cut corners on the installation itself. Lets take a look at what this calculation entails and why its important to get it. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up Window air conditioners typically have a cooling capacity ranging from 5,000 to 12,500 British thermal units (Btu/hr.). If there is poor insulation/efficiency in your home, its best to estimate higher tonnage. There are so many variables that it would be madness (and probably a waste of money) to try to calculate it yourself. 2,100 sq. x 25) / 12,000) – 0.5) = required tons, For example: your house is 2,350 sq.ft. – presence of sunlight or natural shade If you want to get a sense of how big of a central air unit your house will need, it is possible to get a rough estimate on your own. The odor comes from sitting water that is not draining properly and thus collects and begins to smell. You should not trust an HVAC contractor who does a quick walk through your home, and gives you the AC tonnage your home needs just off the top of his head. Obviously, a smaller area room or house with shorter lengths and widths require fewer BTUs to cool/heat. Air conditioners are rated in BTU's and the BTU rating determines the cooling capacity in the square footage of the living area to be cooled. Mini splits do not have this issue because the cold or hot air is produced right inside the room. Sydney: 2.2kW. All this nonsense about costing more to run and other bs is not true. All opinions are our own we pride ourselves on keeping our articles fair and balanced. ft./4 tons All was insulated with roll in insolation and later blown in type over the roll in. It is like buying a 5 Amp power supply to power a 0.5 Amp device. Here is another very quick and basic way to figure out the size of an AC unit based on the number of square feet in your house. Musty or Moldy Smell. That’s it! In addition to sizing, its important to consider other features of a central air unit, such as the SEER rating, 1 vs 2 cycle system, fancy extras that high-end brands like to include, etc. ft./5 tons. He will come in for an in-house estimate and tell you exactly what size central AC you need. Getting the right size AC unit for your house is very important if you want to have the desired level of comfort and good energy efficiency. This means that they save energy by running in cycles, which results in your home being cooled at a slow and steady, rather than a rapid pace. In the example above, you would estimate a 4 ton unit for a poorly insulated 2,200 sq.ft. In fact, there are so many variables involved in choosing the correct size air conditioner that you would be mad to buy one without talking to a professional first. If you find that your air conditioning system has low airflow, there are some simple things you can check yourself that might solve the issue. So you would want to install a 3.5 ton unit. AC Size Calculator accurately estimates the cost to install central air in different climate zones (regions), based on your house size and AC SEER rating. Hobart: 1.1kW. Size and Ceiling Height. Use the form below to get a professional HVAC contractor to come tell you exactly what you need. On the other hand, getting a system that is too small will not keep your house cool, so while you will save money, you will not have the optimal temperature control. Keep in mind that you don’t need to 100% understand all this stuff, just having a basic grasp of what each term means will ensure you aren’t bamboozled by jargon. – ceiling height Fixing or changing the ductwork to accommodate the AC system can add as much as $3,000-4,000 to the total price. Ask your HVAC installer to a recommend a couple of brands he trusts. But what size do you need? Bungalow Area [square feet] * Furnace Output [BTU/hr] Air Conditioner size [ton] Built after year 1980. This means that if your house requires a 24,000 BTU unit (2 tons), you should not install one that is larger than 30,000 BTU’s (3 tons) to maintain energy efficiency. Residential air … We recommend placing a 6000 BTU air conditioner unit in a confined space. The importance of a quality install cannot be overstated enough. There are multiple factors included in this assessment, such as: – heat transfer between walls 18,000 BTUs – 1.5 tons If your house actually requires a unit that is over 5 tons, your HVAC contractor will install two units to match your home’s cooling needs. I don’t remember the R-Rating but it was quite a bit higher then required. It is not really necessary to go into this in more detail here, as this really is a calculation that is primarily used by professional contractors. Final pricing for central AC also varies based on brand name, as well as other features. There is a direct relationship between the volume of a room (measured in cubic feet) and the tonnage size of an air conditioner unit that should be used with that room. Here is a little more information for the above question asking about what size or Ton I should purchase. We will get into these below, and show you a more accurate way to do the estimate. – insulation type and R-value So a model with a higher BTU rating has more cooling power. However, high SEER central AC systems are expensive, and are typically the more advanced Central Heat Pump type (18 SEER+ systems). If you don’t mind – what is the square footage that you used in calculations? Pro Tip: we strongly recommend replacing your old ductwork, unless you know for sure that it is working properly. 1 BTU is the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water at sea level by 1°F. So it’s time to either install air conditioning in your house for the first time, or to replace your old run down unit. When you choose to click on a link that takes you to an external site, we may earn a commission from any sales made on that site thereafter. He will come in for an in-house estimate and tell you exactly what BTU capacity central air system you need. – number of heat generating appliances You can read our guide on fixing low air flow here. Whereas modern cenral air units have an average rating of 16 SEER (seasonal energy efficiency rating), a typical ductless mini split has a SEER rating of 22, while high – end models are rated at 33-40 SEER, in single zone installations. Nope…..wrong! The smallest AC unit 1 ton (12,000 BTUs) costs $1,300 – $1,700. Each indoor unit will be capable of providing a set number of BTU’s of cooling and heating power. – many other factors are also used in the software program. I had anew 3 ton air conditioner installed recently. 24,000 BTUs – 2 tons You might even find that you’re existing unit has a problem that is simple for a contractor to diagnose and repair. Luckily, HVAC contractors have access to many different software solutions to calculate this for them in a fraction of the time that it would take to do it by hand. There are just too many factors at play here. Brisbane: 2.2kW "Most commercial calculators or guides will recommend 3.5-5kW for a room of this size, which is often going to be a lot more capacity than you really need." A musty or moldy smell could be likened to smelly feet or dirty socks. We will go into it in more detail shortly, but it is vital that you do not purchase an AC unit that is too big. Shop for portable air conditioner 500 square feet at Best Buy. AC Size Calculator | Estimate Size of AC Unit for Your Home, get free estimates from licensed HVAC installers, mini split AC system can be installed DIY, Number of people living in the house: (each person gives off around 250 BTUs per hour), Number, age and orientation of windows (south or north facing) and how well they are insulated. 60,000 BTUs – 5 tons. If you need an AC that small, you are much better off going with a ductless mini-split system. 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. So here are some of the terms and phrases that you might hear thrown about.