What size air conditioner will be needed to cool an area 2,400 square feet, understanding the tonnage of units, and the considerations to make when calculating size?
Are you looking to invest in an air conditioner (AC) but are not sure which size to get for you 2400 square feet space? Looking into finding the answer you need will help.
You will need to know how you can do your own calculations to give you an idea of what size to look for in an air conditioner that needs to cover 2,400 square feet.
What is the correct size air conditioner to cover 2,400 square feet?
In order to cover an area, the size of 2,400 square feet, you would need to invest in an air conditioner that offers a BTU cooling capacity of around 34,000 per hour, with the air conditioning tonnage of three tons.
2,400 square feet is a lot of area to cover for any other regular smaller air conditioner, as some units that are considered big with 14,000 plus BTU’s can only still manage to cover spaces to the size of 700 square feet and above, but not close to 2,400.
Air conditioning units intended to cover spaces that exceed 1000 square feet will be measured in what is called tonnage (tons), which is another name for the size of these bigger units, as well as the higher BTU’s.
As with the 2,400 square feet space needing an air conditioning unit of three tons, which carry a 34,000 BTU cooling capacity.
So, to be able to efficiently cool down a space as large as 2,400 square feet, the bigger the air conditioner the better, in terms of the cooling capacity and the tonnage.
What to consider when calculating the right size AC unit and what exactly is tonnage
If you are going to be doing your own calculations, you will need to do them correctly to avoid getting them wrong and buying the wrong sized air conditioner, but what is equally important is to take into consideration some factors that will influence the size of the air conditioning unit you will need.
The first and most obvious one is that you know the square footage of the space you are looking to cool, especially if it is going to be a particularly large area like 2,400 square feet.
You would also need to look into your geographic location and observe what the weather conditions are normally like, check the insulation around your home or the space you are looking to cool, and how old it is.
Consider the number of windows you have in your home or space, whether it tends to get a lot of shade or sunlight, the age of your ductwork, as well as how many people live in your home or occupy the space.
The three most important numbers to consider in your calculations will be the square footage to be covered, the number of tonnage of the air conditioning unit as well as how high your ceilings are.
Tonnage is the air conditioners capacity to cool the down a space. It is measured in BTU’s as with all other units, but the bigger the unit the more tons of cooling capacity it will have.
What are some issues with getting bigger air conditioners?
Since a bigger unit of 34,000 BTU and tonnage of three tons will be needed for a space 2,400 square feet in size, you still have to be aware of some of the issues associated with bigger air conditioning units.
This includes the fact that bigger units will require higher upfront costs, meaning that before you have the unit installed, you are already paying lots of money upfront.
Of the biggest issues, would be the fact that bigger units will use up tons of energy to run. This will result in higher energy bills. Bigger units operate by short cycling a lot during operation, meaning that the units compressor will be turning itself on and off more often and this is not really energy efficient.
When the unit is short cycling more often, this can decrease the lifespan of the unit, this is because wear and tear is increased with every short cycle, therefore resulting in the unit deteriorating much quicker.
Due to short cycling, this would mean that a unit could be turned off over long periods of time resulting in increased humidity levels.
So, in order to cool down a space 2,400 square feet, you will need an air conditioner three tons in size and offering 34,000 BTU cooling capacity to achieve cooling.