A load calculation could be one of the most important exercises you and your HVAC contractor perform for your home. It’s an essential step in determining the size of an HVAC system, normally conducted even before your home is built.
A good builder and HVAC contractor will always use load calculations to drive their equipment decisions. Misjudging the size of a heating and cooling system leads to unfortunate consequences, like higher energy costs, reduced system durability, and decreased comfort. This calculation takes into account the many aspects of your home surrounding its energy efficiency.
The HVAC industry uses standardized software called Manual J to arrive at the right size for a home or building. The software requires detailed data, like:
- Cubic footage of the structure.
- Insulation levels throughout.
- Quality, size and location of the windows.
- Degree of air infiltration.
- Building or floorplan layout.
- Number of heat-producing appliances used indoors.
- Family size and ages.
- Landscaping factors that contribute to heat gain.
After inputting the data, the software recommends the size of the system best for the home.
Oversized systems reduce comfort since they don’t run long enough to thoroughly condition the rooms further from the air handler, leave humidity behind in the summer, and raise electric bills.
A system that’s too small will run longer per cycle than the manufacturer recommends, and the home may not reach comfortable temperatures during weather extremes.
Besides choosing the optimal size, the load calculation also tells you where you can improve the energy efficiency of your home to cut year-round conditioning bills. Adding insulation and sealing air leaks are relatively easy and inexpensive projects that cut energy costs.
Home improvements directed toward lowering the heating load can reduce the size of equipment needed, which results in immediate savings on system cost. Over the long term, your home will cost less to condition, which reduces your energy bills.
A load calculation is an integral part of choosing a new system and discovering ways to cut your energy consumption. To learn more, contact Hartman Brothers Heating & Air Conditioning, providing trusted HVAC services for Fort Wayne homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in New Haven, Indiana and surrounding Fort Wayne area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about load calculations and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 260-376-2961.
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