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Air Conditioning Installation; Tips to Make sure it’s Done Right!

Posted on 14. Jun, 2010 by mws227 in Repair Tips

There ’s growing proof these days that over half of all of the air conditioning systems installed in the U.S. today are not installed properly or are working at reduced capacity causing homeowners expensive repair and utility bills. Most of these problems can be avoided by choosing the right contractor to install your new air conditioning system which will reduce future breakdowns and reduce high energy bills.

First off let me start off by saying that the cheapest contractor may not be your best choice.  A lot of times (but not always) they are the cheapest for a reason, they have to cut their costs somewhere and it  will probably be on the materials used for your installation or on the experience level of the installation crew. Neither of which will be good for you the homeowner or your new air conditioning system.

The question that we get all the time is, Can I put in a bigger unit that what is installed now. There are definitely some issues to oversizing a system for a home. The biggest issue is that the humidity removal will be very poor on an over sized system. The system will run shorter cycles maintaining temp while not removing the proper amount of humidity (latent heat). Your house will be cold and clammy and it opens the door for all kinds of microbial growth such ad mold and mildew. Do not up size your system unless a complete load calculation is performed by a qualified contractor. This will determine the proper size unit for your home. Most of the time when we perform this calculation the system is sized correctly…..but this brings us to the next issue…

Duct work sizing and design. This is where we find the majority of a homes heating and cooling problems. Usually when the duct system was originally installed it was not sized correctly or over time the duct system has deteriorated.

See this article for more info on this subject.

 Make sure that the contractor checks your existing duct system for leaks and routing issues. You would be amazed at what hides up in your attic un-noticed for years. Complete duct runs not attached, large holes in duct work from squirrels, crushed ducts, these are problems that should be addressed with your new installation. You could be losing up to 30% of your systems capacity in the attic or crawlspace. Make sure the contractor goes into the attic or crawlspace and inspects the duct work before giving you a final proposal.

With the transition from refrigerant 22 to the new replacement refrigerant R-410a there have been some issues regarding the different lubricating oils that are  used with the two different refrigerants. On your new installation if it is in your budget and possible to do I would recommend having your copper refrigerant lines replaced with your new equipment. If this is not in your budget make sure that the contractor is using an approved flushing agent to remove any of the existing mineral oil from the existing copper line set. If this oil is left behind it does no mix well with the new lubricants and will cause problems to your new system down the line. Also make sure if the existing copper line set is going to re used it will be pressure tested for leaks before installing your new system.

The last issue that has a huge impact on your new air conditioning installation is the refrigerant charge. After the system is installed and properly evacuated your contractor should be charging your new high efficiency air conditioner by the manufacturers recommended procedure; which is to weigh in the refrigerant for any additional line set lenth over the factory charge. This procedure when used in conjuction  with sub cooling will assure that your system has the proper amount of refrigerant, which in turn will provide you with the energy efficiency that you purchased. The ”old school ways” of charging a system do not work on today’s high effiecient systems. Ask the technician or sales person what method they will use on your new system installation.  

So make sure to check these few items to ensure a quality installation that will give you years of trouble free comfort.

If you are in the Jacksonville Fl area and are considering repalcing your air conditioning system give us a call for a no obligation quote on a new Comfortmaker hih efficiency heat pump system.

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Tags: air conditioning installation, jacksonville ac, jacksonville air conditioning, properly installed air conditioner