New home heat pump
 

We have a newer home in ST Catherine and when I looked at the heat pump they put in, it looks like it is undersized for our house sq footage. We have a 2038 sq ft house with a 3 ton heat pump and when I check on many sites online, the right size for a 2000 sq ft house is a 4 ton heat pump.
Has anybody else ran into this and if so, have you brought this up to the developer?

The rule of thumb is about 600 SF per ton. 3 tons is about the correct size. I think 4 tons would be oversized.

Duuuuuuuuude: = 600 + 600 + 600 = ______

The rule of thumb is a rough estimate. 3.5 tons may be closer to the correct size. But, unless there is a cooling issue, I don't think the builder will change it out. I haven't seen any cooling issues in The Villages.

My new home is 33% bigger than my old home, and the heat pump is 33% smaller. The new homes are so much better insulated than the ones built even 15 years ago and don't require the same size heat pump.

We've been in it 4 years and have had no issues, even when it's 100 out.

You should be able to get the heat loss calculation for your home which will have the required size of the HVAC system from the county building department. This should answer all of your questions. Then if the calculation shows a different size, you can call home warranty, to find out who installed it and request the correct sized unit.

I have never looked as it works and my house it cool. Guessing you looked because you have a problem getting your house to cool down. Document the issue and contact the warranty department. If you don’t have an issue cooling your house I would not worry about it.

A heat pump is basically an A/C unit it’s in the winter months is when it changes by taking the ambient heat from the outside air it converts that to heat for the house. Depending on design and efficiency some work well others not. When outside air reaches 32f approximately most efficiently is lost.

My concern is 3 tons might be on the smallish size and it will work harder to cool the house down compared to a larger size which won’t work as hard. I’ll ask Munns who put it in. Thanks

Slightly undersized is better than oversized. Far better to have longer run times versus short cycling. You might consider a variable heat pump if you replace it. I have a Carrier variable speed heat pump that is slightly undersized by performs well year round. As pointed out, get the calcs from the building department and see what they recommend. The size of the unit is just one variable in cooling a home - there are others including supply duct sizing, return sizing, type of inside unit, window sizing and direction etc etc.

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as you know your home 1st year warranty is almost up.
There are home inspectors who advertise here on totv.
I also live in st catherine's and will be utilizing their services which i believe would also address yours and the myriad of items us non professionals would obviously miss
good luck.

You nailed it.

Also oversized condensers can cause humidity and air quality issues as dehumidification is another function of AC.

If you want to increase your heat pump efficiency, have the spaces above your lanai and garage insulated or have a radiant barrier installed. This will help with your attic temps and take some of the strain off your heat pump.

You will get an answer from them but probably not an objective one because they would have to admit they put an undersized unit in your house. Look at the good news ; you are going to have to replace it in about 12 years or less anyway. As others have stated your A/C works as an evaporator inside your house while it is running removing humid air. I would just relax and enjoy your new home and be more concerned with changing the filter (twice as often as recommended with the exact size replacement)and making sure the condensation drain is flowing properly

You would get better results by adding insulation to the attic spaces above the conditioned areas. Insulating unconditioned areas will not have much benefit. That is why unconditioned areas, like the garage and lanai, are not insulated in the first place.