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Selecting the right air conditioner size for your house is crucial for efficient cooling and energy savings. Many homeowners find this task daunting due to the myriad of factors involved, such as room size, window dimensions, ceiling height, and local climate nuances. This guide simplifies this complex decision-making process, leveraging our deep expertise in HVAC technologies and years of hands-on experience.
Not only do you need to be careful of oversizing, leading to unnecessary energy consumption, you also need to consider undersizing, resulting in inadequate cooling.
By using our simple air conditioner unit size calculator, you can avoid these common pitfalls. This article will demystify the technical aspects of AC sizing, ensuring you make an informed decision that enhances your home comfort and efficiency.
While we all want to save money, getting the calculation wrong can be expensive in the long run.
Single Room Air Conditioner Size Calculator Chart
It is important that when talking about a single room or split system air conditioners, every situation is different. You need to take into account the size of the room, the number and size of windows, the height of the ceilings and the climate.
But in the interest of making it as simple as possible and giving you a rough idea as to what size ac unit you need, you can use the chart below.
These figures are based on a room with 8-foot ceilings, 2 windows and 1 door. You should consult a professional before deciding exactly what sized airconditioner you need.
Room Size (Sq Ft)
Recommended BTUs
0-150
5,000
150-200
6,000
250-300
8,000
300-350
10,000
350-400
12,000
400-450
14,000
450-500
15,000
500-600
18,000
600-700
20,000
700-800
22,000
800-900
25,000
Central AC Unit Size Calculator
Use the below AC size calculator to give you an indication as to the size of the air conditioning unit you might need.
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Air Conditioner Size Guide
As I have already mentioned, there are many different factors that a pro will take into account when calculating your ideal air conditioner size.
See what I mean? There are so many variables that it would be madness (and probably a waste of money) to try to calculate it yourself.
But you can at least know what you are talking about when the professionals come knocking.
Let’s take a look at what you should know.
Important HVAC Terms To Be Aware Of
So here are some of the HVAC terms and phrases that you might hear thrown about. Keep in mind that you don’t need to 100% understand all this stuff, just having a basic grasp of what each term means will ensure you aren’t bamboozled by jargon.
We have put together a quick infographic below to help. Read on for a more detailed explanation.
Manual J or J Load Calculation
Let’s start with the heavy stuff hey! The Manual J or J Load Calculation is a term that any air conditioning professional that you speak to may or may not mention to you – but you can guarantee they will be thinking about it as they walk around your house.
The Manual J calculation is used to determine the heating and cooling loads of a particular house or building. It takes into account many different factors, some of which we mentioned previously in this article.
While it is possible to calculate this manually, it is quite a time-consuming task. Luckily, HVAC contractors have access to many different software solutions to calculate this for them in a fraction of the time that it would take to do it by hand. Your HVAC specialist might contact you prior to your quotation appointment to go over some of the questions they need to ask you to plug into their software in order to save time when they are actually at your house.
It is not really necessary to go into this in more detail here, as this really is a calculation that is primarily used by professional contractors.
Air Conditioner Tonnage
Unlike portable units, central air conditioning units are measured in “tonnage”. So that is how much they weigh right? Nope… wrong!
Confused yet? I’m sure they do this just to confuse people!
When we talk about air conditioning, a “ton” is the measurement of a unit’s ability to cool. If you have a one ton AC unit, it means it has the ability to cool 12,000 BTUs an hour.
Residential central air conditioners come in a range of sizes from 1.5 ton to 5 ton models. If you need a unit that has more than a 5 ton cooling capacity, then it is likely you will need multiple AC units.
Hang on… BTUs? I guess we should discuss that too!
BTUs (British Thermal Units)
British Thermal Units is a measurement of heat. 1 BTU is the amount of heat required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water at sea level by 1°F.
That’s nice isn’t it… but what does that have to do with air conditioners?
Well, when we talk about BTUs in relation to AC it refers to the amount of heat that the unit can remove from the air per hour. So a model with a higher BTU rating has more cooling power. When we talk about air conditioner tonnage, a one ton unit is equal to 12,000 BTUs.
So you should just get the model with the highest BTU rating right? Nope – incorrect! We will go into it in more detail shortly, but it is vital that you do not purchase an AC unit that is too big.
Bigger Isn’t Necessarily Better
While you may think that the more powerful the AC unit, the better – this is certainly not the case.
There are numerous reasons why installing an air conditioner that is too powerful is a bad idea:
The upfront costs to purchase the unit are higher
Larger units use more electricity (even when working less)
The number of times that the unit will turn on and off is much higher, causing wear and tear and higher maintenance costs
House remains humid because the unit does not run long enough to remove the moisture from the air
Consult A Professional
I’ve lost count of how many times I have said it, but I will say it again – get a professional HVAC contractor in to calculate the correct size unit. And obviously to install it too.
You might even find that your existing unit has a problem that is simple for a contractor to diagnose and repair.
Aaron is the founder of and Essential Home and Garden.
With over 15 years of hands-on experience in home ownership, lawn care, and gardening, Aaron is a seasoned expert in areas like lawn care, DIY, HVAC, and pest control.
3 thoughts on “Air Conditioner Unit Size Calculator”
I have a 1528 sq. ft house. I had anew 3 ton air conditioner installed recently. Now the installer says they made a mistake and I should only have a 2 ton. they say that in summer months (Florida) the heat would cause too much humidity with 3 tons. It is dual system. They are saying the cost would only be a difference of $30.00. My charge was $5900.00. I am confused.
It’s really hard to say from here sorry Patti. I would recommend getting a second opinion.
It sounds like the difference in cost they were referring to was energy savings, but I can’t be sure of the time they were referencing (monthly, or annually). Now the difference in equipment replacement considering the units installed have significantly decreased value is up to that company completely. Hopefully, now that I realized the date from your post they were more fair in the end and they did a much better job of explaining any and all discrepancies starting with how they screwed up the initial “J Load” (calculation to determine the correct size of the cooling system) of your home in the first place.
I have a 1528 sq. ft house. I had anew 3 ton air conditioner installed recently. Now the installer says they made a mistake and I should only have a 2 ton. they say that in summer months (Florida) the heat would cause too much humidity with 3 tons. It is dual system. They are saying the cost would only be a difference of $30.00. My charge was $5900.00. I am confused.
It’s really hard to say from here sorry Patti. I would recommend getting a second opinion.
It sounds like the difference in cost they were referring to was energy savings, but I can’t be sure of the time they were referencing (monthly, or annually). Now the difference in equipment replacement considering the units installed have significantly decreased value is up to that company completely. Hopefully, now that I realized the date from your post they were more fair in the end and they did a much better job of explaining any and all discrepancies starting with how they screwed up the initial “J Load” (calculation to determine the correct size of the cooling system) of your home in the first place.