How do you know that the HVAC system in your home Is what you need? Sure, you probably had a contractor come out and look at your home, measure the square footage and give you a bid. Maybe you even had multiple contractors come out and go through the motions but does that mean that the system that you picked is the right one for your home? Chances are the answer to this question is no; especially if your bids didn’t include a Load Calculation.

Many installers only check the name plate of the existing unit to provide you pricing on like equipment but since many homeowners have invested in better insulation and newer energy efficient windows this may enable you to install a smaller unit in your home saving you money upfront and over the life of the system as well as maintaining your comfort level.

A Load Calculation is crucial in ensuring the most efficient and cost effective system possible for your dollar. One of the most common mistakes made by homeowners is over-sizing their system. Bigger is not always better, not only does an over-sized system cost most to install but it cost more to run and breaks down more. On top of that it creates drastic temperature swings in your home making some areas uncomfortable and since over-sized air conditioners don’t run long enough to remove the humidity in the air you often are left with a muggy feeling and mold growth causing your families allergies to flare up.

While performing the manual j heat load your contractor will take into account several factors to correctly size your HVAC system. The local temperature, how much insulation your home has, the number and age of windows and where they are located at, other heat producing appliances in your home, how large your home is and which direction it faces, and how many people live in the home and their comfort preferences . A contractor should be prepared to measure walls , floor space and windows and will determine the R-value of the building materials used in your home. He will check for all areas in your home that air can leak out of, if you have the correct number of supply and return grills and their location in reference to the system. More often than not your home will need additional return ducts installed during the installation of the comfort system.

When he has completed his heat load calculations ask for copies of them along with your written bid. The average heat load calculation will take around two hours, depending on the size of your home and accessibility to all the areas he needs to reach. We believe that an educated customer is the best customer and that is our goal, to educate our customers so that they can get the best possible service and product. No one should ever feel like that are being taken advantage of and at AC Wizard we strive to make sure that every customer is an informed consumer and has all the information needed to make an educated decision and never feel like they are being taken advantage of. When quality matters, call AC Wizard at 214-342-2665, we are here to help.