Tips for Buying a New Air Conditioner
April 27, 2023
Buying a New Air Conditioner: Tips to Consider Before and After Your Purchase
All appliances have a lifespan—and air conditioners are no different. When it’s time to replace yours, do you know what you’re looking for in a new one? Is your home ready for AC if you’ve never had one installed?
Loveland summers get hot enough that you won’t want to be without AC. Read on to learn the extra details that make buying a new AC unit go smoothly.
How to Measure a Room for an Air Conditioner
If you’re cooling your whole home, use the square footage to estimate how much AC capacity you need. Loveland’s median home size is about 2,384 square feet, which requires a 34,000 BTU per hour (BTUh) AC.
When cooling a single room, you can calculate the square footage with some simple math. If the room is oddly shaped, break it into rectangles and triangles before calculating. To find the area of a rectangle, multiply the length by the width. To find the area of a triangle, multiply the length by the width and divide by two. Add your totals to get the area you need to cool and consult the chart below. If you are planning for a new system, no need to do all this math yourself; a professional technician will figure out what you need while you sit back and relax.
Area To Be Cooled (square feet) | Capacity Needed (BTUs per hour) |
100 up to 150 | 5,000 |
150 up to 250 | 6,000 |
250 up to 300 | 7,000 |
300 up to 350 | 8,000 |
350 up to 400 | 9,000 |
400 up to 450 | 10,000 |
450 up to 550 | 12,000 |
550 up to 700 | 14,000 |
700 up to 1,000 | 18,000 |
1,000 up to 1,200 | 21,000 |
1,200 up to 1,400 | 23,000 |
1,400 up to 1,500 | 24,000 |
1,500 up to 2,000 | 30,000 |
2,000 up to 2,500 | 34,000 |
Information from EnergyStar.gov.
Other factors can increase your cooling capacity needs. Discussing your needs with your service professional with give them insight to increase your estimations if:
More than two people regularly occupy the room to be cooled (add 600 BTUs per additional person).
Your home is in full, unshaded sunlight (multiply your total by 1.1).
You’re cooling a kitchen (add 4,000 BTUs).
Your home has many large windows and doors that can leak air (consider fixing leaky seals before AC installation).
How Much Is a New Air Conditioner?
The cost depends on the type of unit you want. The most common AC type, single-stage cooling blasts cold air in cycles to reach your desired temperature. Mid-range ACs with two-stage cooling (a high and a low output setting) have a middling cost. You can also pay premium prices for a high-end variable-speed option that blows a continuous stream of cool air while running at a lower overall capacity. Costs will increase and decrease with inflation rates and labor and unit costs.
Are There Tax Credits for New Air Conditioners?
Yes! Certain Energy-Star-certified split-system air conditioners (commonly called central air and the widest-spread AC units) are eligible for federal tax credits. Packaged systems that combine AC and heating into one unit are also eligible, but their inefficient heating makes them uncommon in Loveland’s cold winter climate. Heat pumps, which can both heat and cool, are also eligible for federal tax credits, and you may also qualify for substantial rebates.
Loveland-area efficiency programs also offer rebates on ducted heat pumps and mini-split systems. You can qualify for an additional rebate if you add a smart thermostat to your HVAC system.
How Much Power Does an Air Conditioner Use?
A high-efficiency window air conditioner may use as little as 500 watts, while larger window units may take up to 4,000 watts. Central ACs use more power—drawing 3,000–4,000 watts—while window air conditioners that only cool one room use an average of 500–1,400 watts.
Because air conditioners cycle intermittently throughout the day, they generally only use about 65% of their stated wattage per hour. To find out your AC’s daily power usage in kilowatt-hours, use this equation:
AC wattage ×hours running AC per day ×0.651,000 =kWh used daily
Can You Plug an Air Conditioner into a Regular Outlet?
For window units, technically yes. However, we recommend an outlet with power surge protection instead of a standard or ungrounded outlet. Window air conditioners use 120 volts and between 3 and 20 amps, making them compatible with standard wall outlets. If you have an outlet on a dedicated circuit, that’s the ideal plug-in point for your window AC. Central air conditioners need much more power, requiring a dedicated 220-volt outlet, much like other large home appliances. Window heat pumps also require a custom circuit. If you don’t have an outlet available, you’ll need to schedule installation with an electrician.
Can I Install My Own AC Unit?
Window air conditioners are easy for homeowners to put in. All you need to do is find a suitable window and outlet and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Leave central air, mini-split systems, heat pumps, and other more complex units to the professionals. Proper air conditioner installation requires expert knowledge and professional tools to install everything correctly. Poorly installed ACs can be anywhere from inefficient or nonfunctional to downright dangerous.
Schedule Professional Installation with Loveland’s HVAC Experts
Once you know your home is ready for an air conditioner, contact One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning of Loveland for professional installation. We’ll make sure everything is installed correctly and swiftly and check for any safety concerns. Call us at (970) 822-0413 or book online to set up your AC installation.