Home AC Basics: 4 important basics to know about air-conditioning of your dream home!

In this article, we have covered simple home AC basics. As a home buyer, you must know the important home ac basics before you move into your new apartment, and you must get the right air-conditioner with the right capacity.

The guideline for your home AC basics is to make sure that your air-conditioner is not underpowered to take care of the area of the room. The capacity must provide you with adequate comfort, the desired utility, and a reasonable electricity bill.

Home AC Basics

1. See what kind of provision your apartment has?

• Normally builders provide for split air-conditioner provision to keep the outdoor unit as well as an indoor unit
• The Architects provide the electrical outlet for your air-conditioning unit
• Some builders make provision for a window AC if the room does not have the ability to take a split AC installation
• Check for the provision of AC in your building, and your budgetary priorities before you head out to buy AC units
• If the temperature crosses 45 degrees Celsius, then add another 0.5 ton of AC capacity

2. How exposed is the room to sunlight?

• If the room is on the top floor with a roof getting direct sunlight, then it will be hotter than other apartments
• Rooms on the West or Southwest corner of the house will be hotter than other rooms because of direct sunlight hitting
• The AC capacity needs to be adequate for these hotter rooms
• The proper calculation must factor in sunlight, the number of human beings in the room, and other gadgets (emanating heat)

3. What is the size of your room?

• To make sure you choose the right capacity for AC
• Calculator: More specifically, first, find out the area of your room. Then divide it by 600- you get the basic capacity of AC you need. For instance, if your room is 144 sq. feet in area, the basic AC capacity required would be 0.24 tons (144/600). Now, add 0.5 tons to the basic capacity for every five people in the room. Normally, an AC of 0.8-ton capacity would work just fine for a 144 sq. ft. room. If the room is in a place (city) where the temperature goes above 45 degrees Celsius during summer, then add another 0.5 tons…as shown in the calculation below-

• Going by this logic, for a 200 sft room bedroom at your home, you must not force-fit a 1 ton AC which will fall short. Take a 1.5-ton AC
• Similarly, for your large 400 sft living room that’s open from all sides, even a 2 ton AC may not be adequate. Here you need professional help to know which AC will serve the purpose
• Pick an Air Conditioner (AC) whose capacity is just right to get the best cooling for your room
• Right AC size according to your room size saves you a lot of trouble in the long run

4. What if we buy an AC that’s more than the required capacity? Instead of 1.5 ton, buy a 2.0-ton AC? Isn’t that better?

• The answer is a BIG NO
• By buying a 2 ton AC, where the required capacity is 1.5 ton AC, you will end up more on two fronts: (a) paying more for the 2 ton AC (it’s costlier than 1.5 ton AC), (b) higher electricity bills because the 2 ton AC eats-up more electricity than the smaller 1.5 ton AC
• A bigger or higher than required tonnage AC will cause short cycling
• What is short cycling? Answer: When your AC will run for a short time period and get turned off, and again turn on again a short time later. This is bad! What you need is an AC that runs continuously
• Short cycling causes more wear and tear to your bigger AC. Plus, because of short cycling, your bigger AC won’t provide comfort. A bigger AC reduces the temperature of the air and also removes humidity
• The net result of short cycling AC? Answer: A short cycling AC blows very cold air but it will NOT be able to remove the humidity very well. So, on a hot and humid day, your living space may resemble a cold swamp which is cold as well as humid. That’s very uncomfortable!
• Summary: An oversized AC won’t give you better cooling! Only the capacity to cool is more
• So, it’s useless buying a bigger AC, and completely WRONG to think it will cool faster, or save you more money!
• The RIGHT TONNAGE MATTERS! So, get the tonnage right to get the most out of your money

So, do the right thing while choosing the right AC for your dream home.

“We’re not perfect, but we want to do the right thing.”

– Charlie Bell

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To know more about “Split AC Vs Window AC: A Perspective For Middle-Class Homebuyers In Hyderabad!” Click here!