As we all know, Australian heat can be unbearable in the summer, especially here in the Gold Coast area, and good quality air conditioning is the best way to stay comfortable when the heat and humidity start to set in. One thing that wonders a lot of potential buyers is how big of an air conditioner do I need to air condition my home. You don't have to wonder anymore because this guide will go through all the details and give you a clearer idea of what you might need for your home.
First of all, to figure out the right size air conditioner, we need to understand what their unit of measurement is. Here on the Gold Coast, let alone the whole of Australia, the power of air conditioners is measured in kilowatts (often we use kW). A kilowatt is a thousand watts, which is a measure of energy over time.
A question we here at Master Aircon are often asked is "Can we put in a smaller unit to save money", The short answer is NO! But on the same point, it's also not a good idea to put a device in that is too big. Although it may seem that bigger can only be better, this is not the case with modern air conditioners. Instead, air conditioning systems operate optimally when they are sized for the conditions. An energy-efficient air conditioner is designed to run in cycles that cool your home slowly and comfortably, rather than at the speed of light.
If your air conditioner is too big, it will often cool your house down super fast and then cycle off before going through the full cycle it was designed for. Your home will start to heat up, then it will cycle back on, quickly cool your house down, then cycle off again. This whole on-again, off-again cycle can end up using a lot more power than a properly sized air conditioner would.
If your air conditioner is too small, it will run all the time trying to keep up with the job of cooling the large room. It should still be able to keep your house cool unless it's way too small, but it won't run as designed. This constant running at a high level will mean it won't properly cool your home and cycle away over time. Doesn't make it very power efficient and will cost you significantly more in power.
Air conditioning is much more complicated than it may first appear. Obviously, the size of your home is very important in determining your air conditioning needs, but there are many other factors that can have a surprisingly big impact on the size of the air conditioner that best suits your home.
Are your walls or ceiling insulated? This is a key factor because it can affect your home's ability to maintain temperature. If your home is well insulated, you probably won't need as much heating or cooling capacity compared to one with poor insulation.
On the Gold Coast, an obvious factor is the climate your home is in. The tropical and subtropical conditions tend to be much more demanding than the cooler areas of Australia.
Some other factors that affect the size of the air conditioner that you should use include the number of windows and their efficiency, the heat transfer between the walls, the number of people in your home, the number of skylights, if any, the type of foundation the home has, where much heat is transferred through, as well as several other factors.
As you can see, it's quite complicated. It doesn't have to be, here at Master Aircon Gold Coast Home Air Conditioning we can come out and do a free assessment.
Master Aircon's three main ways to calculate the size of your air conditioner are:
– With the formula below.
–Using our quick reference capacity chart.
–By having one of our highly trained technicians visit your home to calculate things accurately.
Using Master Aircon's Quick Formula-
If you want to try it yourself by using a formula to estimate your air conditioning needs, the formula below is quick and easy, but it's also very rough and doesn't take into account many of the important factors mentioned above. It's a good way to get a basic idea of your needs though, but if you're after a really precise understanding, it's probably best to use one of the other two methods before committing to anything.
To estimate the size of the air conditioner you will need for your daytime living area, you must first figure out the area. You need to find the length and width of each room. And then add them together (Example- Kitchen- 4m² x 4m² = 16 m²) Then add the area of each other's rooms together for the total number. This number must be in square meters.
What you do next depends on your ceiling height:
– If your ceiling is 2.4 m high, multiply the living area during the day (m²) by 150 (watts)
– If your ceiling is 2.7 m high, you must multiply the living area during the day (m²) by 160 (watts)
– If your ceiling is 3 m high, you must multiply the living area during the day (m²) by 175 (watts)
These calculations will give you the number of watts you need. Moving the decimal point down three numbers will give you kilowatts.
As an example:
For a house with a living area of 100 m² during the day and a height of 2.4 m, the calculations will be:
– 100m² x 150 watt = 15.000 watt
– 15.000 watt = 15 kilowatt
A 15kW unit is about the right size for this house.
Using our quick reference capacity chart
Using our quick reference form will give you a quick reference to get you started. (Size chart on this page)
Using Master Aircon's Friendly Team
The most accurate way to find out what air conditioning capacity you need for your home is to have our highly trained professional staff come in and calculate it. We have many years of experience that they can use to get the most accurate estimate of your air conditioning needs. Our staff will take each factor into consideration and help ensure you have the perfect size air conditioner for your home.
Now that you've figured out the size of air conditioner you need for your home, it's time to have us come look at the duct layout. What it is is all the equipment we need. make the system work, it covers everything from ductwork (flex) to btos (duct fittings), outlets and zones. All these parts are the other half of the duct aircon installation. Our team will go through with you how you want your zoning to work in each room and which rooms you want connected, we can even upgrade your system to run through your phone via WIFI or a Google Home Assistant. All these little things help you to fully personalize your ductwork for your home and we do this throughout the greater South East Queensland area and that's what makes Master Aircon Gold Coasts Home or Air Conditioning.