{"id":1188,"date":"2023-01-30T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-30T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.advantageairtechltd.com\/blog\/?p=1188"},"modified":"2023-02-09T18:56:36","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T23:56:36","slug":"job-sizing-commercial-hvac-units","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.advantageairtechltd.com\/blog\/commercial-heating\/job-sizing-commercial-hvac-units\/","title":{"rendered":"The Job of Sizing Commercial HVAC Units"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One of the most important parts of installing new commercial and industrial HVAC equipment is sizing it. To people unfamiliar with HVAC terms, this may sound like trying to determine the right physical size of the equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the \u201csizing\u201d we\u2019re referring to is the capacity of the unit to provide either heating or cooling (often both in the case of packaged rooftop units).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sizing needs to take into account numerous factors about the facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you schedule commercial or industrial HVAC installations\/replacements with our expert technicians, they\u2019ll go through several steps to size the new equipment so that it matches your facility\u2019s requirements. Undersizing or oversizing equipment will result in inefficient performance and early unit failures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Tonnage of an HVAC Unit<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When we size a new HVAC unit, what we\u2019re looking for is the correct tonnage<\/em>. Tonnage is a measurement of the heat that a heater adds to a space or an air conditioner removes from a space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One ton is equal to 12,000 BTUs (British Thermal Units), which is a convenient measurement when it comes to HVAC equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is this unit called a ton<\/em>? Because 12,000 BTUs is the amount of heat necessary to melt one ton of ice over 24 hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To give you a sense of general sizing, most residential HVAC systems are between 1 to 5 tons. Light commercial systems are up to 25 tons, and anything over that is considered heavy commercial or industrial. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Tonnage is Determined<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Is it possible to figure out how many tons of heating\/cooling your facility needs on your own? You can get a general estimate based on square footage, but this isn\u2019t accurate enough, especially when you consider what\u2019s on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It takes professionals to figure out the tonnage through a process called a load calculation<\/em>. During a load calculation, the HVAC technicians consider many factors about the facility: square footage, heat given off by equipment, ventilation requirements, building heat loss and gain, temperatures necessary for equipment and process, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The calculations are different for every facility. At the end of the load calculation, the technicians will know the tonnage necessary for the new installations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Sizing Must Be Correct<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Reading over this, you might wonder what could go wrong if equipment is improperly sized during installation. Both oversizing and undersizing are problems:<\/p>\n\n\n\n