Guide - Adding Air Conditioning

This guide is offered to help you make the best decisions and to think about aspects of the purchase you may have not thought about prior. If you have any questions on this guide or wish to speak to us call us at (920) 734-1436 or email us at [email protected]

Introduction

Welcome! This guide talks through some of the steps determining what type of Air Conditioning is best for your unique home. We will talk about the types of Air Conditioning contractors offer and what pros and cons are for each.

Do you have Duct Work?

Do you have a forced air furnace? Depending on what you have for a source of heating your house will change the types of options (or the pricing at least) of the cooling methods for your home. Homes with duct work and a forced air furnace have the opportunity to adapt a central air conditioner to it.

Homes without duct work, heated by either a boiler (steam or water) or electric baseboard heat add extra challenges. Homes without duct work have the opportunity to have mini-split air conditioner or a high velocity attic/crawlspace system.

Central Air Conditioner

The most popular option to deliver cooling to the entire house is a Central Air Conditioner. This uses the existing duct work that your furnace uses for heating. We place the outside condenser and the inside coil right above the furnace. We then wire up the system so that when you want cooling, your furnace blower turns on and the air conditioner cools down the air flowing through your duct work.

Pros: Utilizes existing duct work and furnace blower.

Cons: If you do not have duct work, adding it to do a central air conditioner can be very expensive.

Mini-Split Air Conditioners

This option is very popular in Europe and is growing rapidly here in the USA. Mini Splits have an outside unit much like the standard central air conditioner, however it is much smaller. For cooling around the home we typically have to install multiple units. Depending on the configuration we can attach multiple indoor units to one outdoor unit.

Pros: Incredibly efficient, most can also heat your home too. Zoned comfort.

Cons: Larger upfront investment, individual units only cover a limited area.

High Velocity System

This option was more popular before the mini-split air conditioners became more prominent to the USA. High Velocity systems are easier to retrofit to homes that do not have duct work than trying to do full size duct work. They deliver cooling using very small duct work that runs at a very high speed.

Pros: Multi-room cooling without large duct work. Small Registers.

Cons: Large upfront Investment, Not ideal for multi-floor homes.

Get an Estimate

Even if you're just planning to do this in the next few years it's good to have at least one estimate to have pricing in mind as you plan out your options. When you're pricing out options be sure to compare the pros and cons to the types and efficiencies. If you use your air conditioner a lot, it is will be best to have a higher efficiency option at least 16 SEER.

Conclusion

Depending on what your home has for Heating will limit or change which method is the best to cool your home. Some offer heating abilities too. It's best to have an estimator look at your home to see what options are best and to have prices to compare.

Central Air Conditioners

Mini Split Air Conditioners

Schedule an Estimate