Your new air conditioner may have a high seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER), but without expert installation, your system could fall miserably short. This is because the conditions in your home, and the measures your installer makes at the time your system goes in, can greatly influence whether your air conditioner actually achieves the high SEER rating it attained in the manufacturer’s controlled laboratory setting. Your HVAC professional can go a long way toward locking in that SEER rating. Here are four installation factors that highly influence system efficiency.
- Airflow: Unless proper airflow is achieved, the desired temperature change across the evaporator isn’t possible. Low airflow can be caused by a number of factors, including ductwork that’s too small or poorly laid out, restricted grilles and mismatched equipment.This lowers system efficiency and drives up energy costs.
- Charge: Precision is necessary when it comes to your system’s refrigerant charge. The charge needs to be field-tested and corrected if necessary.
- Tight ducts: In order for an air conditioner to run at peak efficiency, ductwork must be tight. Leaks affect the system’s cooling load and the amount of energy consumed. Your installer should inspect your entire duct system, making sure leaks are addressed, and any layout issues are corrected.
- Size: Your system must be accurately sized according to industry-accepted practices that take into account factors such as orientation of your home, size and location of windows, square footage of your home and the number of people in your family. Your installer should never rely on square footage alone or the size of your old system, which is probably too large. If your system is incorrectly sized, you could wind up with an air conditioner that works too hard or cycles on and off too frequently, failing to sufficiently dehumidify your home.
You’re replacing your air conditioner? Contact the experts at Bryans United Air Conditioning. We will see to it that your system achieves the high SEER rating that you expect. We serve New Orleans-area homeowners.
Written by Zach Mouton
