If something is failing or going amiss with your HVAC unit, chances are, your HVAC unit is letting you know something is not quite right. However, most of the cues come in the form of sounds that many of us may overlook. If you hear your HVAC unit grinding, squealing, screeching or squeaking, it is letting you know it needs help. I was unaware of these cues and overlooked them. It ended up costing me a lot of money in repairs. I want to make sure that does not happen to other people, so I made this website. I hope you learn how to interpret the noises your HVAC unit is making so you can get it the repairs it needs before you incur a costly repair, or worse, permanently ruin your unit for good.
If you are the one in charge of deciding which AC units to buy, you may be wondering about the number of units you need. If you want to approach things from a logical perspective so that you can make a very sensible purchasing decision, here are some things to consider.
BTUs Needed to Cool the Space in Question
Whether you ask an HVAC contractor to install a central air conditioning unit, or you buy several window units, you need to know how many BTUs the air conditioners use. BTUs, or "British Thermal Units," are the units of measurement necessary to heat or cool a space. If you want to know how many BTUs you will need to cool your house, a room, or several floors of an office building, the first thing you need to know is the total square footage of the space you are attempting to cool. For example, a moderately-sized home of about 1,500 sq. feet will require a minimum of 30,000 BTUs to cool the entire house. If you want it nice and chilly on a ninety to one-hundred degree day, or if your house is not effectively insulated, you will need several thousand more BTUs to cool the house and keep it cool. You can talk with a professional, like Childers Enterprises Inc, to see what amount of BTUs would be appropriate for your space.
Maximum BTUs in Window Units Versus Maximum BTUs (or Tons) in Central Air Units
Another cooling question with a mathematical answer is: what is the maximum BTUs in a window unit versus a central air unit? Most window units do not exceed 25,000 BTUs, which may or may not be enough to cool the previously-mentioned house, but it certainly will not cool several floors in a commercial building (nor will you be able to put this type of unit in most windows of many modern, commercial buildings).
Central air conditioners measure BTUs a little differently. In fact, they measure energy consumption and output in "tons." To make the conversion easier to understand, a two-ton central air unit is equal to 24,000 BTUs, each ton equaling 12,000 BTUs. Knowing that you would need much more than this to cool a 1,500 sq. ft. house, you would probably opt for a three-and-one-half ton central air unit or a four-ton unit to cool a larger house. Additionally, when you take into account the total square footage of your office building, you may need to install several four-ton units or six-ton units to cool the entire building and keep it cool.
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