When shopping for a new HVAC system, it’s important to get the correct wattage. What happens if your HVAC wattage is off? How does it affect the unit’s performance? Here’s what you need to know.
Watts and BTUs
The average Indiana home is 1,800 square feet. At 1 ton of cooling per 600 square feet, your AC will expend about three tons or 3,000 watts to cool your home. However, your home’s size isn’t the only thing that affects your HVAC wattage. Your AC doesn’t just deliver cooling to your home; it also removes the heat from your home. That heat is measured in British Thermal Units.
How many watts your system needs is determined by how many BTUs are needed to remove the heat. There are a number of factors that can affect this. If you have large windows that catch the sunlight, your house may be warmer and require a system with higher wattage. On the other hand, on the whole, your home in Indiana likely won’t get as hot as a house in, say, Arizona, and it won’t require as much wattage to cool it.
Correct HVAC Wattage
What happens if your unit has the wrong wattage? If the HVAC wattage is too low, the system will have to run longer to get your home to the proper temperature, wasting energy. Running for that long will also overwork the system, causing frequent breakdowns and eventually making it wear out more quickly.
If your wattage is too high, on the other hand, it results in too much air at once. This leads to short cycling, with the system turning on and off repeatedly in rapid succession. This also wears out your system prematurely and can cause disparate temperatures across the same room, which will make your home feel clammy.
When installing your HVAC system, make sure your contractor uses Manual J to size your system accurately and get the correct wattage for your home.
To learn more about how to save energy and keep your home comfortable, contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing. We provide quality HVAC solutions to Indianapolis.
