In a lot of California’s climate, cooling is a major comfort and energy concern.  There are a few options for cooling your home – Air conditioning systems, Evaporative Coolers (Swamp Cooler) and Whole House fans are the main options used in our California climate.  The most common of these is the Air Conditioner, more specifically, the split system air conditioner.

Here at Eco Performance Builders we take air conditioning very seriously.  When we install, replace or upgrade a system, we commission the unit by testing its performance.  In our systems

  • The airflow must be adequate.
    • Airflow for our climate should be 400 – 500 cfm per ton of air conditioner.
    • Air conditioning systems rarely have this amount of airflow which lowers the efficiency, life and effectiveness of the air conditioning system
    • System air flow is dependent on matching the best air handler with the compressor and static pressure.  Static pressure is the most overlooked portion of these two by technicians.  The higher the static pressure the lower the airflow.  Correct static pressure is maintained in a system by installing engineered duct systems based on ACCA manual D.  We engineer all of our duct systems using manual D and check our static pressure and airflow to assure it is correct. Another cause for high static pressure is dirty filters and undersized return air grilles and ducting.
    • We use engineered air grilles to deliver the correct airflow without the air directly hitting people and they are very quiet.  Most contractors put in cheap air grilles that do not deliver air correctly and are very loud.
  • The refrigerant charge must be correct
    • This detailed test is based on the outdoor and indoor temperature, humidity and the manufacturer’s specifications.  It is a test that is not done correctly by a lot of technicians.  Most technicians only check the charge at the unit and dismiss the other readings.
  • The duct system must be tight (not leaky)
    • California homes leak on average of 30%.  This leakage is cooling and heating your attic and crawl spaces which probably isn’t where you want your hard earned money going.  Duct leakage also brings in contaminants through the air return system which goes directly into your home.  Leaky ducts are sometimes easily fixed and can increase system efficiency, indoor air quality and home comfort.
  • The ducts must be sized correctly
    • They must not be bigger than necessary so we minimize heat gain and heat loss
    • For static pressure so the airflow is correct.
    • Ducts should run to the shortest points possible in rooms as well.
  • The size must be correct.
    • We size our systems using ACCA (Air Conditioner Contractor’s of America) Manual J8 guidelines.  It incorporates room by room cooling load calculations taking into account size, insulation levels, building materials, orientation and climate region.  Correct system sizing is rarely done by today’s technicians and is commonly performed as a “rule of thumb” technique where they will estimate 500 square feet per ton of air conditioning.  This commonly results in system over-sizing, which impedes system efficiency, comfort and life of the unit.
    • A correctly sized system will run without stopping on the hottest day of the year.  When a system is over-sized it will constantly cycle on and off during the hottest day and every other day.  When the system is running for a longer duration it is running at top efficiency but a unit that is starting and stopping is running at a low efficiency.  It is like comparing your gas mileage on the freeway vs stop and go driving.
    • A correctly sized system uses far less electricity than a larger one. When it is running it uses less electricity at the A/C compressor (outdoor unit) and the fan unit (inside) because they are both smaller (correctly sized).
    • We like to make sure that all of the cost effective home performance work, like air sealing and insulation, have been done.  If these measures are going to be taken we want to size the system with them in mind.  We can do all of this work at the same time ensuring you will have a great performing system in a great performing home.
  • Room by room airflow must be precise
    • The ACCA manual J room by room load calculations give us the airflow needed for each room.
    • We adjust the airflow to each room using dampers and a high quality flow meter for each register.