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5 Things To Consider When Installing A New AC Unit

AC units purr quietly during most of their lives, they cycle on and off many times every day creating an expectation from homeowners that they will just keep working. In the unfortunate circumstance that your air conditioner unit stops working, after the initial panic subsides, it’s time to get the facts and research everything related to how to install ac units, as this is one of the most important purchases homeowners will make for their home. Homeadvisor.com shows the average cost to install an ac unit to be approximately $5,256. Most homeowners will spend $3,708 – $7,130 for ac unit installation. This is a huge price range, so it’s important to understand what your home needs.

 

Grand Air Air Conditioner is a New AC Unit installed by the Professionals at Rainbow Lakes Heating & Air Conditioning
Grand Air Air Conditioner is a New AC Unit installed by the Professionals at Rainbow Lakes Heating & Air Conditioning

Must-have information when determining your next ac unit installation:

1. Size and Layout of Your Home

The square footage to be cooled is an important number when determining the size of the air conditioning unit, but it’s not the only thing to consider.  Other factors such as the age of the property, amount of windows, proper insulation or even the amount of people that live in the home can have a large impact on the cooling or heating of the home.

2. Type of Air Conditioning Unit Needed

There are many types of AC Units that can be installed in your home.  Rainbow Lakes Heating & Air Conditioning only install Central Air Conditioners, Heat Pumps, and Ductless AC Systems.  We do understand that other forms of AC Units are needed for smaller situations, so you may see them mentioned below.

  • Window ac unit –a great option when cooling a single room or a small home. Homeowners can expect to pay between $150-300 for Window air conditioner installation.
  • Split systems – These can be ductless ac units or Central air conditioning units where there is an inside and outside component.
  • Central air conditioning unit –utilize a duct system to pump the cool air throughout your home. There are options that combine both heating and cooling known as HVAC systems.
  • Portable air conditioning units – Treasured for their ease of movement, these ac units can come as a split, hose, or evaporative unit. AC installation cost is minimum, most require simply an outlet to connect to.

3. Home size in BTU’s

Air condition units are measured in tons or the amount of heat it can remove in one hour. This unit of measurement is called British Thermal Units or BTU’s.

Now, I am sure you are thinking, the bigger the home, the more BTU’s the air conditioning units’ use, and the bigger the ac unit should be.  Well that is not entirely true, if your ac unit is too big, it will cycle on and off more frequently and become less energy efficient. If the ac unit is too small it will run constantly which too will cause inefficiency. The trick is to find the sweet spot in between, professional air conditioning installation specialists can help you find the right central ac unit to make sure your home runs efficiently.

Consider these other factors when cooling your home:

  • Uses of square footage (ie kitchen can make more heat), climate, size, shape and orientation
  • Takes into consideration types of windows, flooring, insulation, leaks, existing ducts and vents
  • The rule of thumb is that every 500-600 square foot requires 1 ton of cooling but this varies because the load is a manual calculation that varies by region and technician

We offer a BTU calculator that can help you determine the number of BTUs you might need for your home.

 

BTU Calculator

4. SEER & SEER2 Ratings

  • Energy Efficient Ratio (EER) measures cooling efficiency using BTU’s per hour divided by the rate of energy input (watts)
  • Seasonal Energy Efficient Ration (SEER) is important in climates with temperature changes and is determined using the cooling output in the winter divided by the electrical input during the winter

Many factors play a part in determining the best ac unit or central ac unit for your home. It’s important you are armed with the facts; it keeps the cost within the average cost to install air conditioning units.

Ready To Get Your New AC Unit Installed?

If you are looking for a new ac unit, Rainbow Lakes Heating and AC is your premier air conditioning company. Warranty options for the air conditioning units vary per manufacturer, but most of them require registration and maintenance by a professional air conditioners fixer like Rainbow Lakes Heating and Air Conditioning. You can reach us at 352-489-6673 or Click Here to contact us.

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