Sizing
Calculated from the house, in writing, before a model number is discussed.
Abilene & Taylor County
The most important number on your quote is the one nobody explains
Metroplex works on air conditioning, heating and ductwork across Abilene. We put a great deal of effort into one unglamorous thing: working out what size a house actually needs, and being able to show you how we got there.
01
02
Ducts
Measured for leakage and static pressure. In Abilene the attic is usually where the capacity went.
03
Repair
Cheapest cause checked first. A capacitor before a compressor, every time.
04
Premises
Rooftop units, extract and planned maintenance for shops, offices and small industrial.
SIG
Signature page
What size, and how would you know?
Five things a quote can say about size, crossed with four things that might have changed about your house. It explains how sizing is actually done, why bigger is worse rather than safer, and how to tell whether anybody has done the sums.
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Including this
If the quote does not state a size at all, that is the finding. It is the single most common thing we see, and it usually means the number came off the old rating plate. The page says so and tells you exactly what to ask for.
What we do
Six things
01
Repair
No cooling and no heat, checked in order of cost. Capacitors, contactors, float switches, filters and thermostats before anything expensive is on the table.
02
Annual service
Combustion tested on gas heat, defrost proved on heat pumps, charge verified properly, and the readings written down so next year means something.
03
Sizing and replacement
A load calculation from the building, not from the old rating plate. You get the sheet whether or not you buy from us.
04
Duct testing
Leakage and static pressure measured, then sealed where the measurement says to. Sealing ducts that were not leaking is spending money to change nothing.
05
Airflow and balance
The room that never keeps up, the return that is too small, the register nobody has opened since 2009.
06
Premises
Rooftop packaged units, kitchen and restroom extract with the make-up air it needs, and planned maintenance twice a year.
Homes
Most of our work is in houses
Abilene has a lot of houses built between 1955 and 1985 that have been re-roofed, re-glazed, insulated, extended and air-sealed since — and are still running a system sized for the building as it was. That is the single commonest reason a house is uncomfortable, and almost nobody checks it.
Businesses
And a steady share in premises
Shops, offices, clinics, a few restaurants and some small industrial. Rooftop packaged units, extract that needs make-up air, and planned maintenance with the readings recorded against each unit rather than against the building.
Plainly
Five things this website does not print
| Prices | Two houses of the same square footage on the same street can need different systems and different ductwork. A figure here would be a guess dressed up as information. |
| Tonnage rules of thumb | You will find “one ton per 500 square feet” everywhere. It is not a calculation, it is a shrug, and it is why so many houses in this town are oversized. |
| Savings percentages | It depends on what you had, what you set it to and what the summer does. Anybody printing a number has chosen the flattering case. |
| Reviews and ratings | There are none on this site. When there are real ones they will be somewhere you can check them. |
Questions
Asked most often
How do you work out what size system a house needs?
With a load calculation, usually to the ACCA Manual J method. It takes the floor area and ceiling heights, the orientation, how much glass there is and what kind, insulation levels, air tightness, where the ducts run and how much they leak, how many people live there and the design temperature for this part of Texas. It produces a heat gain figure in BTU per hour, and the equipment is chosen to meet it. It is an hour of work and you keep the sheet.
Is it not safer to fit a slightly bigger unit?
No, it is a different set of problems. An oversized system satisfies the thermostat quickly and stops, and because dehumidification only happens while the machine is running you end up with a house that is cold and still feels damp. It also short cycles, which is hard on the compressor and the contactor, it costs more to buy, and it often needs larger ductwork that is not in the quote. Bigger is not cautious.
Why did the last company say the same size as the old one?
Usually because they read the old rating plate. It is quick, it is what most of the trade does, and it is not a calculation. It carries forward whatever mistake was made the first time and it ignores everything that has happened to the house since — new windows, a re-roof, insulation, an addition. It is not automatically wrong. It is just unexamined.
My house is cold but it still feels sticky. What is that?
Almost always an oversized system, occasionally return-side duct leakage in the attic. Cooling and drying are two different jobs and the second only happens while the machine actually runs. A system that satisfies the thermostat in eight minutes never runs long enough to take moisture out, so you get a cold clammy house.
Do you work on commercial buildings as well?
Yes, and it is a steady share of what we do — shops, offices, clinics, some restaurants and small industrial. Mostly rooftop packaged units, planned maintenance twice a year with the readings recorded against each unit, economisers opened and proved, and extract with the make-up air it needs. We turn down chiller plant and proprietary control systems, and we say so at the survey.
Which areas do you cover?
Abilene, Tye, Impact, Potosi, Buffalo Gap, Merkel, Clyde and Tuscola.
Where we are
Cypress Street, downtown Abilene
202 Cypress St, Abilene, TX 79601. We cover Abilene, Tye, Impact, Potosi, Buffalo Gap, Merkel, Clyde and Tuscola.
Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. (325) 215-8267