More often than not, the air conditioning unit in your restaurant or office is oversized. Most people think that the bigger the unit, the better they will be able to cool their space. However, if your unit is too large, you could run into a few problems.
Issues an Oversized Air Conditioner Can Cause
Using an air conditioner that is too large will increase your electric bill, negatively affect your air ducts system, and cause the relative humidity in your building to increase to an uncomfortable level.
In a Restaurant:
Most restaurant owners will purchase a large air unit to prepare for those 95-degree days, when their dining room is full when they do need that much cooling. However, your restaurant is almost never using the full unit capacity and therefore you are going to have to run the thermostat lower to be comfortable. This ends up costing more in energy than it would if you had a more appropriately sized unit.
Using such a large air conditioner also adds more time to your defrost cycles because every time you open your freezer doors in a high humidity restaurant, that moisture flies towards their frozen freezer coil it takes to defrost those coils.
In an Office:
It is also common for offices to have a unit that is too big for their space. For example, an office we serviced had their air set to 70 degrees, but it was also 85 percent relative humidity. This is too high as it’s going to be difficult getting comfortable. Moreover, the high humidity level was affecting their operations. Their paper was sticking together, their copier wasn’t running right, and it was hard for the employees to be productive in such an uncomfortable environment.
The Solution: A Dehumidifier
One solution that these types of business can use is to run a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier will take excess moisture out of the air which will lower the relative humidity in your space.
Moreover, by running a dehumidifier, you will be able to run that large capacity air conditioning unit at a more comfortable temperature without having to worry about increasing the humidity and running that unit at a better temperature will reflect on your electricity bill, causing it to lower.
Therefore, not only is running a dehumidifier more comfortable for you, your guests, and your employees, but it also costs you less in the end!
If you own a restaurant or an office and you are experiencing high humidity levels or want to know if your air unit is too large for your space, contact us at Forquer Heating and Air Conditioning!