Oversized A/C question

[Steve B.]

so folks who buy an "oversize" unit, while their intention is to be more

>comfortable, end up LESS comfortable in a cool, but clammy home. > >get the correct size, and no more >

I have an additional question on this subject...

Living in south FL it's hotter than heck most of the summer. Our A/C is working fine this year (thanks to the helpful people here who insisted I had a leak in the return that was pulling attic air). While the A/C does a good job of keeping us comfortable it gets overwhelmed when we have guests over or when cooking a big meal in the early evening (when the natural heat load is worst).

Since a two ton works fine for most situations I was thinking of having it replaced with one of the new two speed units and sizing the lower of the two at two tons then we would have the additional capacity of the second speed to cope with the days when we need more cooling. Will this work OK or am I missing a big part of the picture?

Steve B.

[lp13-30]

Thaat is exactly what the two spped or two stage ubits are designed to do-- they will run on low 70-80% of the time and give you reserve for the other times when more capacity is needed. Initial price is about the only downside, but figure it out over the 10-15 years life expectancy of the unit, and it is worth it in most cases. Larry

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

There is not too much to add to it for you got it pegged.

TURTLE

[Joseph Meehan]

Good plan, but I can suggest that when expecting company, you can improve comfort by reducing the temperature 2-5 degrees an hour or two before company arrives or if cooking, maybe sooner.

[Alan]

Mine *might* be capable of bringing the temp down that much in a few hours, but I have always felt that it is oversized as it does not run continuously even in the hottest weather and so doesn't do enough dehumidifying.

[Goedjn]

Since you've already got the existing system, why not just add a smaller auxiliary unit somewhere set to come on 2 degrees higher?