Plan Your Central Air Conditioner Upgrade Carefully
GreenHomes recommends improving your home’s insulation levels and reducing your home’s air leakage rate prior to installing high-efficiency heating/cooling (HVAC) equipment (as part of any AC upgrade project plan). Improving insulation helps reduce the air conditioning needs of your home. Additionally, starting with insulation during an AC upgrade project helps match the furnace, boiler or air conditioner size to the new heating/cooling demands (also called heating/cooling loads) of your home.
As a result, homeowners must always consider air sealing and insulating during their AC upgrade project. This consideration reduces overall air conditioning costs following the completion of an air conditioner replacement.
When upgrading your older, existing cooling system, GreenHomes recommends the following steps:
- Air seal and insulate your home whenever possible as part of the central air conditioner upgrade
- Make sure an ACCA Manual J type of heating/cooling load calculation and an ACCA Manual S equipment selection is completed
- Select a high-efficiency central air conditioner (15 SEER minimum) as part of your upgrade
- Include duct sealing and duct insulation as part of the central air conditioner upgrade
- Don’t forget - Proper maintenance of your new central air conditioner is important!