What Size Central Air Conditioner For 1200 Square Feet

What Size AC Unit Does Your Business firm Need?

Written on: June 23, 2020

choosing a/c system new haven, ct

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If yous've decided to invest in a cooling organisation for your home , you lot already know information technology'due south a major investment, and so you want to be sure you're buying the right unit for your house.

While at that place are several things to consider when deciding which Ac unit to buy , mayhap the most important question you lot may be asking yourself: What size Ac unit exercise I demand?

Not just practise you lot want to avoid wasting money on the wrong air conditioner, simply you also don't desire to throw your money out the window each month, as the unnecessarily large Ac unit burns upwardly your energy bill.

Likewise, yous don't want to purchase a unit of measurement that's likewise modest for your firm, which means it will be running all the fourth dimension to try and absurd you downwardly, eventually leading y'all to buy a 2d unit of measurement.

Thankfully, you can avoid guessing games and summate the right size AC unit of measurement your house needs.

Computing The Right Size Ac Unit

At that place are several things yous will need to consider, all of which will bear on the size of the Air conditioning unit you lot volition need for your house:

What is the square footage of your firm?
What geographic region do you live in, and what is the local climate like?
How much insulation do you have and how old is information technology?
How many windows do you have in your firm?
Does your house become a lot of shade or sun?
How onetime is your ductwork and how erstwhile is it?
How many people alive in your house?

To come upwards with a ballpark, the three most important numbers you demand to know:

The square footage of your firm
The required tonnage of the unit
The acme of your ceilings

What Is Air-conditioning Unit Tonnage?

Tonnage really has nothing to do with weight. A ton refers to the AC unit of measurement'south capacity to cool the air, in other words, how much heat the unit tin can remove in one hour.

That capacity is measured in BTUs or British Thermal Units . Why BTU? A long time agone, they determined information technology takes 286,000 BTU to completely cook ane ton of water ice in a 24-hour period. HVAC experts eventually divided that number by 24 hours and came up with 12,000 BTU/one-ton Air conditioning capacity.

Using that measurement, a 2-ton Air conditioning unit of measurement will remove 24,000 BTUs, while a three-ton Air-conditioning unit volition remove 36,000 BTUs. Therefore, the more than tonnage the Air conditioning unit of measurement is rated for, the more air it tin cool down.

DIY Calculations

To get a rough guess of the tonnage you will demand from your AC unit, use the following calculation:

Foursquare footage of your habitation ten 25 (estimated energy to cool 1 square foot is 25 BTU) / 12,000 –1 = Ac Unit Tonnage

For example, the calculations for a 1,200-square-human foot home:

(1,200 x 25) / 12,000 –1 = 1.5 Tons

You would demand a ane.5 ton Air conditioning unit for your house.

If you live in a drier or hotter region, don't subtract i.

For example, the calculations for a 1,200-square-foot habitation located in New Mexico:

(ane,200 x 25) / 12,000 = 2.five Tons

You lot would need a two.5 ton AC unit for your house.

This table should requite you an idea of what size AC unit you lot need, depending on the square footage of your house (located in a temperate climate region):

Foursquare Footage	BTUs per hour	Ac Unit Tonnage
450 to 550	12,000	1 Ton
550 to 700	14,000	1.v Tons
700 to 1,000	18,000	1.v Tons
ane,000 to 1,200	21,000	2 Tons
1,200 to 1,400	23,000	2 Tons
1,400 to 1,500	24,000	two Tons
1,500 to 2,000	30,000	2.five Tons
2,000 to 2,500	34,000	3 Ton

Of course, all the other factors we previously discussed will also affect the unit of measurement y'all ultimately finish up purchasing:

What geographic region do yous live in, and what is the local climate like? Will yous need higher or lower power to keep y'all cool?
How much insulation do you take and how quondam is information technology, and how old is your ductwork? If your insulation or ductwork is former, air tin can escape, requiring more power to keep your home absurd.
How many windows do y'all have in your house, and does your house get a lot of shade or sun? Natural sunlight can rut your home upwards really quickly. Without proper sunblocks on your windows, yous might need a stronger AC to keep your home absurd.
How many people live in your business firm? The more body heat in your home, the more energy yous'll need to keep your house cool.

Which Type Of Ac Unit Do I Need?

There are normally two different types of air workout systems you tin install in your home: a packaged unit or a split system.

Packaged Unit

The packaged unit air conditioner is the ane most usually associated with a central air system. With this system, the evaporator, condenser, and compressor are placed in 1 single cabinet. This cabinet is virtually often located on a concrete slab exterior or on the roof. This type of packaged air conditioner ordinarily includes electric heating coils or a natural gas furnace. This removes the need for an entirely separate furnace.

Split up-System Central Air

This blazon of system is almost often used in homes that already have a furnace but no air conditioner installed. Information technology's the most cost-effective style to install ac in a house.

With a carve up-system primal air conditioning unit of measurement, an outdoor cabinet holds the condenser and compressor. An indoor cabinet holds the evaporator. This indoor chiffonier may also agree the furnace.

Buying The Right Ac Unit of measurement

While it's fairly elementary to come up with a rough judge on the correct size Air-conditioning unit you volition need for your firm, ultimately, information technology'due south safer and volition save you coin in the long run, if you lot work with an HVAC expert to determine the proper size.

Installing central air can price you betwixt $iii,779 and $7,429 , co-ordinate to HomeAdvisor.com. So yous desire to make sure you're buying the right unit of measurement the first time.

Getting the right unit volition ensure your cooling system can perform efficiently for years, especially with regular maintenance .