CFM and HVAC are abbreviations that impact your indoor comfort and monthly cooling and heating costs. CFM (cubic feet per minute) expresses the volume of conditioned air produced by a furnace or air conditioner, while HVAC is the common acronym for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning.
HVAC performance and efficiency are directly related to the volume of conditioned airflow produced by a furnace or air conditioner, as well as to certain critical specifics about the size and structure of the house. The calculations utilized to accurately match CFM requirements of a house with an HVAC unit that meets that specification is called “sizing.”
Why Sizing Makes a Difference with CFM and HVAC
When the HVAC CFM sizing calculation is accurate, units with the proper heating and cooling capacity can be installed. If the sizing calculation is only a rough estimate — or not performed at all — the result is installation of units that provide either too much or too little heating and cooling for the home. Either of these results lead to substandard system performance, as well as excessively high operating costs and a shorter system life for your equipment.
Getting Size Right
Before installing a new furnace or air conditioner, a sizing calculation should be performed by a certified HVAC contractor. Using industry software, a technician can enter a range of variables that affect heating and cooling. Here’s how CFM and HVAC figure into the sizing calculation for a typical home:
- The sizing calculation involves a room-by-room survey that quantifies factors including total square footage, the number of rooms in the home, the size and number of windows, the quality and amount of insulation, and the number of occupants.
- Other variables such as typical local temperatures, as well as how many hours of daily sun exposure a house gets, are also entered into the calculation.
- The software calculates the precise CFM necessary to maintain a predetermined range of indoor temperatures in both winter and summer.
- With this information, the contractor can offer a choice of HVAC units that meet those exacting specifications for optimum performance, lowest operating costs, and long service life.
For more about the connection between CFM and HVAC performance and efficiency, contact the professionals at Jackson & Sons.