Two Options For Air Conditioning A Building Addition

When your business grows enough to justify expanding the building to accommodate more workers, products, or equipment, there are many things you need to take into account. One of those issues is making sure your air conditioner can handle the additional square footage. If your unit is too small, here are two options for ensuring it stays cool in the expanded areas of your company.

Upgrade Your Current A/C

While you may be tempted to stick with the air conditioning unit you already have, this is not always a good idea. A unit that is too small for the space it's trying to cool will run for longer periods of time, which will lead to higher energy bills and more wear and tear on the system. Additionally, an under-performing A/C unit likely won't get the space as cool as a properly sized one, making all its hard work futile.

Therefore, one solution is to bite the bullet and upgrade your current air conditioner to something that matches the size of your extended building. This is probably the best option if you have an older machine that would need to be replaced in a few years anyway. You can recoup some of the money you spent by either selling your old machine to another business or donating to a local charity and taking the tax write-off.

However, don't forget to also have ducts installed in the new building so the air can get to the extended location.

Install a Second Supplementary Air Conditioner

If your current air conditioner is fairly new or you prefer not to upgrade it just yet, another option is to install a second supplementary air condition in the new space. It does necessarily have to be a standard central unit. Depending on the size of the space, you may be able to get away with a window or ductless mini-split a/c.

The only drawback to going this route is that the air conditioning will be controlled separately from your other unit, which makes more work for your maintenance crew. Additionally, you have to carefully size the supplemental unit to ensure it perfectly matches the square footage of the area it's cooling. If you get a second air conditioner that's too big, you may create a situation where it interferes with the functioning of your first unit and vice versa.

For instance, the combined capacity of both units may be too much for the building's total square footage. This may result in building cooling down too fast and causing one or both units to start short cycling, i.e. turn on and off multiple times per hour. Short cycling causes the air conditioner parts to wear out faster, so you may end up having to replace the unit sooner than expected.

For more advice on how to air condition an addition to your building or help picking out a new a/c unit, contact an HVAC company like Associated Mechanical Contractors, Inc.