All square footage is not the same. The heat load on the additional space is a function of the orientation of the space (east, west, north, south), the amount of window area, the types of windows, whether you have shade from trees, insulation values of the walls and celiing, etc. Also, if the net effect of opening the sliders is longer runtimes for the AC this is not necessarily a bad thing. ACs work more efficiently when they have longer runtimes during the hottest part of the day instead of cycling on and off multiple times per hour. It is possible that your system is oversized enough to handle the additional space despite that the fact that is was sized by the required heat load calculation (aka Manual J).
If you only see longer runtimes during the hottest part of the summer then you might be OK. If the new space faces to the northeast this is more likely than if it faces to the southwest. If you see continuous running and the AC can not maintain the temperature you have set on the thermostat (say it is several degrees warmer than you want), then you may want to consider adding a minisplit system as you don't have enough capacity to handle the new space.
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Originally Posted by VillagerNut
You may figure out why you needed to separate air conditioner unit when you kill your existing air conditioner unit. Opening the door after adding that much square footage is overworking your unit and will decrease its life. That's why it is highly advised to have a split system or a stand on the ground air-conditioner unit instead of opening the door and letting your existing air handler and air conditioner handle the extra square footage. When you replace your air conditioner then you can size it larger to handle the additional square footage and drop the extra ductwork in to the room. But it is your choice!
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