If you’re like most homeowners or even renters, you’ll likely use an air conditioner to beat the heat during the warmer months. But it’s not enough just to have an AC unit; it also needs to be the proper size for your home or a given room. And when new AC units are too small, you’ll likely be uncomfortable and will end up paying more in maintenance and bills. Here are just a few signs that your AC might not be substantial enough in size for your needs.
Your home is too hot
The most obvious sign your air conditioner is too small? Your house feels uncomfortably warm — and you have to struggle to get the temperature lower than 79 degrees Fahrenheit. The newest AC units on the market are designed to cool your home at a more gradual pace, rather than use one long cycle to rapidly cool a room. So in that sense, it may take a bit longer to make your home comfortable. However, you shouldn’t feel like it’s impossible to cool your home. If you can’t lower the temperature consistently no matter what, you may need to look for an air conditioning unit that’s better equipped to deal with the size of your space.
Your AC unit cycles for a long time
In the past, AC units were meant to run all day long to keep your home cool. The energy crisis in the 1970s prompted AC manufacturers to change the way these units were designed. These days, these units are supposed to run for shorter, more frequent periods. So if your unit runs for longer than a half an hour on a regular basis, something is wrong. Your unit definitely shouldn’t run all day; if it does, it’s probably too small. Your HVAC technician can help you choose a unit that’s an appropriate size for a given room or for your entire home.
Your bills are too high
A sky-high energy bill doesn’t always signal a too-small AC unit, but it can be symptomatic of such a problem. If you’ve exhausted all other possibilities, ask your friends or family members with a similar property and AC setup to yours what they pay for electricity on a monthly basis. Should that amount not be in line with what you’re being billed (and your bills are for several hundred dollars for a number of months in a row), you may need to look more closely at the size of your air conditioner. When your unit has to work overtime to make your home comfortable — and isn’t successful in doing so — you’ll pay more each month in utilities and will wear down your unit a whole lot faster.
Think your AC unit might be too small for your home? Call your local air conditioning service to get an expert opinion on the optimal size unit for your home. The sooner you take care of the issue, the less money you’ll have to pay in the long run — and the more comfortable you and your family will be.