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When upgrading your heating and cooling system, there are several things to put into consideration. One of these things includes knowing HVAC’s capacity to keep your home well ventilated all through the year. The HVAC system needs to be matched with your home size; if not, you could end up spending more than your budget, wasting time and cash.

Unfortunately, many homeowners fall victim to buying heating and cooling systems that are oversized for their homes. Getting an oversized HVAC could lead to some issues that would deter your overall comfort.

How to Diagnose an Oversized Heating and Cooling System

First, you need to know how heating and cooling systems are measured before understanding if your HVAC system is oversized. Each home requires a certain amount of heating and cooling range for maximum comfort. A higher or oversized HVAC provides more than the required capacity for your home size. A home supposed to have a minimum of 18,000 BTUs of heating and cooling range won’t benefit from an HVAC that is double that size.

Hazards Of An Oversized HVAC System

If you fall victim to installing an oversized heating and cooling system, you may encounter the following issues. 

Over Hot Or Over Cold Air

The inside temperature of a home with an oversized HVAC system is unstable and not comfortable. It is true that the system heats and cools faster, but this might result in some issues.

• Your home might not heat or cool evenly. So you will end up having some cool or hot spots at different parts of your home. 
• A moderately sized HVAC system dehumidifies the air while it cools. An oversized HVAC system cannot run for a long time, so its dehumidification process cannot occur. This will result from cooling, but moisture filled the air, which is not comfortable for some individuals.

These issues can affect your comfort for a longer period. Also, it will affect the cost of energy consumed over time.

Shorter Cycling Challenges

For the fact that your oversized HVAC system blows cool air excessively, the temperature becomes unstable, causing the system to restart incessantly. This is known as short cycling. Short cycling can cause damage to your heating and cooling system if not attended to. It could lead to malfunctioning of the blower fan motor, compressor, or other vital parts of the system.

Shorter Lifespan

A standard and appropriate residential heating and cooling system are supposed to last for about 15-20 years, with adequate maintenance. Unfortunately, oversized HVAC systems may not last up to that. Short cycling is one of the major culprits that cause a short lifespan on HVAC systems. So, you may end up replacing the HVAC unit sooner than supposed.

Conclusion

To avoid all these challenges, it is advised to properly estimate the heating and cooling system’s needed capacity before buying and installing them. However, if you already have an oversized HVAC system, you can make a change by speaking with a professional HVAC contractor.