Based on Your Home’s Size, How Many HVAC Units You Should Have?

How many HVAC units do you need to keep a single house comfortable? It’s a problem that often occurs with larger, two-story houses where temperature control throughout the entire structure is difficult with just one A/C and furnace. In these homes, a second story may be too hot upstairs in summer and need more A/C airflow during the winter, and the first floor may need additional furnace heat to stay comfortably warm.

To make the right decision about how many HVAC units you need, first make sure the unit you already have is optimum:

• Are the existing A/C and furnace properly sized for the home’s cooling and heating load? Each unit must have sufficient BTU capacity to accommodate the structure’s square footage and thermal characteristics.
• Is the system ductwork sealed and fully functional? Leaky or collapsed ducts may not deliver sufficient conditioned airflow throughout the entire home, causing uneven temperatures in certain areas.

If these factors are an issue, a second HVAC unit to serve the upstairs premises may be a viable solution. Some advantages of installing an additional unit include:

• More precise comfort control. A separate upstairs HVAC system with its own dedicated thermostat provides temperature control specific to that part of the house only. This allows you to balance temperatures in the house more accurately per time of day, as well as depending on the season.
• Less energy consumption. Keeping a two-story home comfortable with a single HVAC system usually means the system runs very long cycles to maintain temperatures throughout all parts of the house. With two HVAC systems, one may be turned off for portions of the day while the other runs shorter cycles because it is keeping a smaller area of the house comfortable. Overall energy consumption and operating costs are reduced.
• Reduced wear and tear. Because each unit in a two-system home runs fewer hours per day, both systems incur less wear and tear. This reduces potential repairs and increases the service life of both systems.

For more advice to determine how many HVAC units your home requires for optimum comfort and efficiency, contact Energy 1 Heating and Air Conditioning.