Do you know what size your air conditioner is? In the world of building science, you'll hear a lot of talk about why oversized air conditioners are a bad idea. Briefly, they may not dehumidify as well, short-cycling wears them out quicker, and your home will probably be less comfortable if the air conditioner is too big. But to know if your AC is oversized, first you have to know what size it is. (Note: This article is about finding the size of your existing AC, not determining what size you need.) Look for the label The good news is that most HVAC manufacturers make it easy to determine the nominal capacity of your air conditioner. It's in the model number. Go outside and find the outdoor unit, that metal noisemaker hidden away on the side or the back of the house. It'll look something like the one you see above, although maybe not quite so decrepit as that one. Then find the lable that gives the data about your AC. It'll look like the image below. Up near the top of the label, you see the model number (M/N) and serial number (S/N).

The model number is where you can find the number you're looking for. Not all manufacturers do this, but most will give you a 2 or 3 digit section that tells you how many thousands of BTU/hour your air conditioner can move out of your home. The first section in the model number gives you info about the type and efficiency of the unit you're looking at. In the case of this Lennox model (which, by the way, is not from the outdoor unit shown at the top of this article), the 13HPX tells you it's a heat pump with an efficiency rating of 13 SEER.denso hvac unit The digits you needruud central ac reviews Just past that string of 5 characters, though, is the part that tells you the nominal size: 048. 5 ton ac unit prices traneThat means the air conditioner—or heat pump in cooling mode in this case—has a nominal capacity of 48,000 BTU/hour.

I say nominal because the actual capacity is almost certainly going to be different. The numbers you'll see on residential air conditioners and heat pumps are: The 3 digits in the model number tell you the nominal capacity in thousands of BTU/hr. Since each 12,000 BTU/hr is equivalent to 1 ton of air conditioner capacity, it's easy to figure out how many tons of nominal capacity your AC has. Why Is Air Conditioner Capacity Measured in Tons? NOTE: Comments are moderated. Your comment will not appear below until approved. Stay cool and comfortable with this high quality, single stage, 14 SEER central air conditioning system which is designed for residential and commercial applications. The system consists of the outdoor condenser, indoor cased coil, thermal expansion valve, and 30 ft. line set. The compact micro-channel condenser is charged with enough R-410A refrigerant for 15 ft. of line set, and has a top air discharge. The cased coil is filled with dry nitrogen, and a thermal expansion valve is included for field installation to increase efficiency by metering the refrigerant.

The Line set is 30 ft. in length and has a 3/8 in. liquid line and 3/4 in. insulated suction line. The system is AHRI Certified and ETL Listed. Final connections from line set to coil and condenser must be done by a certified technician. 240-volt, 42,000 BTU central air condition system includes a factory charged R-410A outdoor condenser, indoor fully cased evaporator coil, thermal expansion valve, and 30 ft. line set Condenser has micro-channel coils made of aluminum which provide high corrosion resistance, plus the complete metal wrapper protects the condenser coil from yard hazards and extreme weather Scroll compressor and no maintenance heavy duty PSC motor for long lasting reliability, quiet operation, and system efficiency Indoor evaporator coil with micro-channel design is fully cased and accepts the included thermal expansion valve which must be field installed 30 ft. line set includes 3/8 in. liquid line and 7/8 in. insulated suction line; may be cut to length in the field to customize installation

Designed to be used with a new or existing forced air A/C ready furnace; not for mobile home applications Commercial warranty is 1 year parts and 5 years compressor with online registration within 60 days of installation; residential warranty is 10 years parts and compressor with online registration within 60 days of installation Equipment should be sized, selected and installed by a qualified professional to ensure proper installation, safe operation, and adherence to federal, state and local codes and for valid warranty; see installation guide for more details Recommended for professional purchase only 2 Is this a heat/air conditioning system? Does Home Depot offer to do the installation of these units 1 How much is the installation costs? I want to know how much it will cost to get this unit installed on my property? And how long is the waiting time to get this unit installed? 1 Are these systems pre charged with freon Ingrams Water and Air LLC.

10 used & new from Ships from and sold by Ingrams Water and Air LLC.. Goodman 3 Ton 16 SEER Air Conditioner R-410a GSX160361 Goodman CAPF3636B6 Goodman Evaporator Coil Full-Cased 30 Ton Upflow Or Downflow National Brand Alternative 61420350 A/C Line Set, 3/8" x 7/8", 35' 140 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) 4.6 out of 5 stars #989,647 in Home and Kitchen (See Top 100 in Home and Kitchen) #1,250 in Home & Kitchen > Heating, Cooling & Air Quality > Air Conditioners & Accessories > Air Conditioners See all 9 customer reviews Arthur O. Kristoff Jr. See all 9 customer reviews (newest first) Unit arrived even before scheduled date. It arrive in perfect condition and has worked perfectly and quietly since installation. The woman does not come with it. nothing wrong with it good I am getting ready to hang drywall in my basement but before I do that, I need to run wire from the main panel upstairs to the future location of the central AC furnace through the basement ceiling joists.

I do not know yet who will be installing my AC but I will probably outsource it. At this point I just need to know what the electrical requirements for AC are so that I can bring the cable and hang the drywall. The house has three bedrooms and two living rooms, 1800 sq ft, two floors. What amperage/AWG am I looking at? The wire distance from the panel to the furnace is only about 20' +/- and then I plan to sit the condenser on the roof (it is a low pitched mod bit roof so I can do this, many of my neighbors with similar homes do) directly above the furnace, two floors above (so another 16-20' total). It also may be worth mentioning that I plan to use this for just AC and not heat -- I have already a radiator system in place and I love radiant heat. electrical wiring hvac furnace It's going to completely depend on the unit that's being installed, but commonly it'll be 30-60 amp with 10-4 AWG wire. You're probably looking at a 3.5 ton unit, so you'll be in the 30-40A (10-8 AWG) range.

It might be worth it to get a few quotes from local HVAC companies, and see what they want to install. The companies may have a preferred breaker and wire size, so they may want to redo any work you do anyway. Don't forget you'll also need high and low pressure tubing, and control wires between the indoor and the outdoor units. You should either sort out what the AC is going to be, so you can get specific power supply and cabling needs sorted out now, or line up your joist holes nicely and follow the excellent suggestion from @longneck to run conduit, leaving the wiring for later. Use flexible conduit, if needed to get it in place. Run at least two - there may well be low voltage control circuits that need to be run separated from the power supply. Alternatively, leave a section of the drywall open for now, allowing for both cabling and refrigeration tubing to be run before you close it up.Browse other questions tagged electrical wiring hvac furnace or ask your own question.