Heating, water & power
Sizing an air conditioner, a water heater or a solar array to what the house actually needs.
These size a machine to a load rather than counting material, and they all share one trap: bigger is not better. An oversized air conditioner cools the air quickly, shuts off, and never runs long enough to pull the humidity out, so the room ends up cold and clammy and the compressor wears out short-cycling.
They are also the tools where the local number matters most. Peak sun hours, incoming water temperature and how hard the climate works a cooling system are all things only you know, so they are fields to fill in rather than figures published here.
- Air conditioner size What size of unit a room needs, with ceiling height, sun and occupancy allowed for.
- Solar array size How large an array your electricity use needs, in kilowatts and in panels.
- Water heater size What size tank a household needs, sized on its busiest hour rather than its day.