Sizing of Mechanical Equipment
Correct sizing of mechanical equipment is important for several reasons. First, why would you want to pay extra money up front for an oversized system? This is the typical process for the construction of new buildings. In addition, mechanical equipment that is larger than needed results in inefficiencies of the system. Oversized furnaces and air conditioners cycle on and off more often than if they were correctly sized. They blast on and meet the required heating or cooling loads quickly, turning off before maximum efficiency is reached. This is called ‘short-cycling’. Equipment performs much less efficiently while short cycling. Further, this also results in a shorter service life for the equipment, and can also result in thermostat and humidity problems.
