My air conditioner runs a lot in the summer. Shouldnt I put in a bigger unit so my energy costs will be lower?
Air conditioners cost more to operate as their capacity or size increases and their primary job is to remove humidity. If an air conditioner is not operating, it can not remove humidity. Considering these facts, it is very important that an air conditioner is sized as small as possible. In fact, the air conditioner with the lowest cost of operation will be sized so that it runs almost continuously on a hot summer day. There is only one reason to increase the size of an air conditioner. If it cant maintain a comfortable temperature on a typical hot summer day an it is operating properly, a cooling load calculation should be performed and if proven through the load calculation that the unit is too small, then increase the size of the air conditioner. Another preferred option is to add insulation or install efficient windows so the cooling load will be decreased.
