Sizing the Air Conditioner to Your Rooms
A cooling quote should start with your rooms, not with the capacity printed on the old unit behind the shed. A contractor who copies that capacity across repeats whatever mistake was made fifteen years ago, and on a house this spread out that usually means a machine too large rather than too small.
We measure the house instead. A technician counts the rooms, the glass and the shade you actually have, and allows for what the roof does to the upstairs. An oversized unit reaches your setting within minutes and switches off, which leaves the house cool and damp at once. A unit sized to the house runs longer and more gently, and those longer runs take the moisture out.
That is why a house that feels humid even with the cooling running is one of our commonest July calls. Nine times out of ten the machine is larger than the rooms ever needed.
We Pick the Spot Before You See a Price
One question turns into an argument on installation day, and it is always where the outdoor unit goes. We settle it at the quote, and these are the four things we look at in your yard.
Where the outdoor unit can sit
The township's zoning by-law lets this equipment sit up to 1.5 metres inside a required yard, in any yard, provided it stays on your own land. On the lots here that rule almost never decides anything, so the real questions are the ground, the roof drip line and the view from your kitchen window.
The run back indoors
The refrigerant lines still have to reach the coil above your furnace. A unit beside the back door with a short, clean run is one price. The same unit set further out, where you would rather have it, costs more. We tell you the difference before you choose.
How quiet the machine needs to be
The township's noise by-law names any air conditioner not in proper working order and puts a fine on it. The offence is the unit nobody has serviced, not one you can simply hear, so a machine that we size, commission and maintain properly is not what the by-law is aimed at.
The ducts, and what they can move
Plenty of houses here were heated long before anyone thought about cooling. We measure what the ducts can move before we sell you central air, because a system that cannot get enough air upstairs will not satisfy you.
Adding cooling where there was none is a different permit question from replacing a furnace. The township's list names installing an air conditioning system, so this one usually does need a building permit, and we get that answer in writing, with the fee, before your price goes out.
Three Ways to Cool the House
Single stage central air
It runs at full output or not at all. It cools a house properly if the ducts are sound, and no other system costs less to install.
Two stage central air
Most of the summer it runs on its lower output, and a long gentle run takes far more moisture out of a house than a short hard one. August stops feeling sticky indoors.
Ductless heads, room by room
We mount one head on the wall of whichever rooms matter, fed by a single outdoor unit, with no ductwork at all. If nobody ever ducted your upstairs, this is the practical answer, and the same heads heat in winter.
Your ductwork usually answers that question before your budget does, and we will say which option we recommend. The air conditioner installation page lists the Lennox range, and ductless mini split installation suits a house with nothing to duct into. If there is no gas main at your road, it is worth knowing that a heat pump cools the same way and carries rebate money an air conditioner never will.
Seven Things That Set Your Cooling Price
The table below shows where the money actually goes, so you can see which lines your house triggers. When the furnace is close to the end as well, doing both in one visit means the metal comes apart once, and financing spreads what is left.
The capacity your rooms call for
The honest number is often a step above or below the unit coming out, and you live with that decision for the life of the machine.
Single stage or two stage
A single stage machine is the cheapest to buy. A two stage or inverter driven unit costs more and gives you a quieter, drier house.
How far the unit sits from the coil
Refrigerant lines, power and a drain route all have to cover that distance, and the difference between the easy spot and the one you want appears on your price.
The ground it stands on
A level base on firm ground is quick work. Soft ground, a slope, or a spot under the drip line of the roof means we build the base properly instead.
How quiet you need it
Nothing in the township's rules decides this for a machine in good order, so the choice is yours. If there is a bedroom window nearby, we will recommend the quieter cabinet and tell you what it costs.
The metal box the coil sits in
That box has to take the new indoor coil. Where it will not, we cut and rebuild it, and cutting metal on site takes hours.
The electrical
A spare circuit and a sound disconnect keep this line small. If neither is there, a new run back to the panel adds to the price, and we read all of that before we quote.
Who Installs Your Cooling System
Sina owns this company and he is on most of the driveways himself. He has more than a decade of cooling work in this part of the region behind him, he holds the Authorized Lennox Dealer agreement for the factory training and the proper parts, and the company has five HomeStars Best of Award wins. The person who chose the spot for your condenser is the person who comes back to service it.
I called Local Heating & Cooling on long weekend after hours. The technician showed at the exact time as he promised. He introduced himself, walked in, a Very professional, knowledgeable, polite, people skills, assessed the HVAC issue within in minutes, gave me very educated and economical options for the fix I needed done. He fixed the issue(s) my HVAC had and I has been my go to person ever since when it comes to HVAC issues.
Vikram S. Sandhu, Google review
How a Cooling Job Runs, Step by Step
We settle where the outdoor unit goes on the visit, before anyone prices a machine.
You tell us what the summer does to the house
Use the form or pick up the phone. We want the equipment's age, the rooms nobody can sit in by August, and whether the old condenser rattles now.
We size it, then we choose the spot
The rooms give us the capacity. Then we go outside with you, settle where the unit stands and trace the line route back indoors.
The price arrives in writing
Your quote names the equipment, the capacity, the spot you chose, the electrical work and the permit answer, each listed on its own line.
We install it and run it with you
We recover the old unit and take it away. We set and connect the new one, pull a vacuum on the lines, and weigh the charge in. Most installations finish in a day.
Cooling Questions Wellesley Homeowners Ask
What size air conditioner does my house need?
My house has no ductwork. Can I still get cooling?
Where can the outdoor unit sit on my property?
Is the noise going to be a problem with neighbours?
Does adding cooling need a permit here?
Does it make sense to replace the furnace now too?
The roads and villages we cover for cooling
The heat is the same across this township, but the houses are not. We work on village lots, hamlets on private services and farms at the end of a long lane. Tell us the road when you call.
- Wellesley
- St. Clements
- Linwood
- Hawkesville
- Heidelberg
- Crosshill
- Wallenstein
- Bamberg
- Dorking
- Kingwood
- Paradise Lake
- Macton
- Lobsinger Line
- William Hastings Line
- Gerber Road
We also cover the rest of the township: rural heat pump installation and furnace replacement on gas or propane. Our Wellesley HVAC page covers every service we run here.
