Heat Pump Size: Why is it Important?
A heat pump is the ideal choice for keeping Australian homes comfortable across the year. They are responsible for both effective cooling in the summer and heating in the winter. As far as choosing and installing a new heat pump is concerned, obtaining the right heat pump size is very crucial. In other words, your equipment's capacity should match the size of the room being cooled or heated. Read on for further insight.
Over-Sized Heat Pumps
An equipment that's too large for your home is quite inefficient, leading to the following difficulties:
- It cycles on and off frequently for a short period of time leading to energy wastage.
- It generates unnecessary noise because plenty of air moves across the ductwork.
- It delivers inconsistent indoor comfort due to large temperature fluctuations.
- The constant on and off cycling leads to premature wear and tear on the equipment.
Under-Sized Heat Pumps
An equipment that's too small for your home is similarly inefficient, leading to the following challenges:
- It runs constantly, although it fails to guarantee proper comfort levels, either keeping your house too cold or too hot in winter and summer seasons respectively.
- It may demand a supplemental type of cooling or heating to achieve proper comfort levels. This comes at a cost.
- Because it runs constantly, it is more likely to break down, which may mean further repair expenses.
Correctly Sized Heat Pumps
Heating and cooling load calculations of your home are used to correctly size your heat pump. The key aspects taken into account during these calculations include:
- The weather conditions of the region in which you reside
- The size of your house, including its shape, plan, number of floors and so on.
- The construction materials.
- The position, size and design of your windows.
- The insulation capacity of your home.
- The lighting fixtures and other heat-producing appliances as well as their efficiency capacities.
- The level of air leakage inside the home from outside, referred to as air infiltration.
Commission a Professional HVAC Contractor
Typically, the average homeowner is likely to find the load calculations more difficult. That's why, it is advisable to commission a professional HVAC contractor to tackle your home's heating and loading calculations. Besides saving you the stress and hassle of conducting the lengthy calculations, using an HVAC specialist can also spare you from flawed calculations, which may easily arise resulting from your lack of experience. In the end, you can be sure of getting your hands on an ideal heat pump size, suitable for a heat pump installation in your living space.
