Central Air Conditioning Systems

Author: Liz Wood
Source: isnare.com

It helps to know your plans for A/C installation before calling up a HVAC contractor to work on your project. The knowledge that you have will help your service provider give you a more precise estimate. One thing in particular that you should be aware of is whether you are replacing a new system or tying into an existing system. If you are tying into an existing system, you will want to use the same brand as the older system. Completely replacing your system will require much more labor and be more expensive.

Often time’s, homeowners will need central air conditioning installed due to an addition or remodeling project. It is important for you to explain to your HVAC contractor whether an addition or remodel is in process because it will help them size up your air conditioning needs and give you a more accurate estimate. This information is important because a house’s structure, window area, sun exposure, and climate will affect your central air conditioning needs.

In addition to what is mentioned above, you should also know a little bit about how central air conditioner’s cooling capacity is rated. You should become familiar with Btu’s (British thermal units). Central air conditioner’s cooling capacity is rated by Btu’s per hour. As a general rule, you need 12,000 Btu’s for 1,000 square feet of well insulated space or 400 square feet of poorly insulated space. The rule changes if you have high ceilings because it will take more cooling power to maintain a comfortable temperature.

When it comes time to decide whether to repair or replace your central cooling system, think carefully. In the last decade, air conditioners have become very energy efficient. More often than not, it is best to just replace your old system because you will end up saving more money that way. Also, if your HVAC professional is tying into an existing system, the older system’s age will help determine its compatibility with the newer system and this may lead to some problems.

Lastly, it is very useful to know how much open access is available. Once again, this information will help your HVAC professional give you a more precise estimate. This is true because there is less labor involved when there is plenty of access space. During installation your service professional will be required to access the home’s heating and cooling duct system. It helps when there is space to do so.

Before calling your HVAC professional, you may want to try some helpful tips. Common problems are related to the fuse and breaker, the refrigerant, the condenser coils, the drain pipe and the filter. Make sure to check the fuse and breaker, check to see if the refrigerant is low, check to see if the condenser coils are dirty, check to make sure the condenser is clean, check to see if the filter is clean and check to make sure the drainpipe isn’t clogged. You can fix most of these things yourself, but if your refrigerant is low you will need to call in a professional.

How to Know when to Change Air-Conditioning Filters?

Author: Thomas Yoon
Source: articlecity.com

Although we don’t usually realize it, we can actually reduce the running cost of a building by removing the dust from the atmosphere. The furniture, walls and fittings are preserved longer. It also improves the health of the occupants.

Removing dust is usually done by installing filters in the incoming air stream or the circulating air stream. In air-conditioning systems, these filters are installed at the air handling units or AHU’s.

How do we know when to replace the filters?

As more and more dust accumulates at the filters, the differential pressures between the inlet and the outlet will increase. By measuring the differential pressures, we will have a very good indication of how much the filter has been choked by dusts. Persons maintaining the air-conditioning plant should know at what differential a filter should be replaced. Some of the dust particles are so minute, that they cannot be seen by the naked eye. In all appearances, the filter looks as good as new.

These are some factors to consider when determining when to change the filter:

Mechanical strength of the filter

The final pressure of a filter is usually stated in the product. That is the strength of the filtration medium. However, other factors need to be considered – the strength of the filter walls, frames and holders if not adequately designed can result in the sagging of the filter housing that will result in leaks.

Changes in efficiency of the filter

This is particularly important in low efficiency filters. Their efficiencies can be radically impaired as a result of high final pressure losses. Particles that have been collected by the filter can become detached and accompany the air stream. Fibrous particles are less likely to become detached compared to granular particles. Because of this, higher final pressure drops are permissible for the former, although this should not exceed about 200 Pa in a pre-filter.

With granular particles, the final pressure loss should not be allowed to exceed 100 to 150 Pa.

Fine filters and HEPA filters are less sensitive to changes in quality. In principle, they can be allowed to have a final pressure loss up to the limit of their mechanical strength.

Permissible Air flow variations in the system

In this case, the flow pattern is more important than the particles carried along the air stream. The permissible final pressure loss here will depend on the total pressure and characteristics of the fan and any other control facilities.

The filter will affect the air flow as a result of dust accumulation. The filter has to be changed when the velocity of the air in a laminar flow installation cannot be maintained or has fallen below the required specifications.

Bacteriological reasons

Sometimes, the filters are replaced at regular intervals instead of pre-defined pressure loss indications. This is to prevent accumulation of bacteria and other microorganisms.

Suitable time window periods

Filters are often changed to coincide with pre-planned plant shutdown periods. In these cases, production disturbances are minimized. For example they can be arranged to be changed during holidays.

Economic considerations

In terms of operating costs, there is an optimum final pressure point to balance. By having longer intervals between filter replacements, we do achieve lower filter replacement costs. On the other hand, this will increase the operating energy costs due to inefficiency.

Why Heating and Air Conditioning Maintenance is Important

Author: Paul A Buchanan
Source: ezinearticles.com

With the busy schedules of people in our day and age, it is no wonder why certain things can get pushed the to backburner. I understand why presentations and papers and work can overwhelm a person’s time. Forgetting to do things like scheduling maintenance for your heating and air conditioning system could result in more than just dusty filters. Here are some reasons why keeping up your annual appointments are important.

When the professionals come out they will do a thorough check to make sure your system is running to its full potential. During their visit they will make sure that your house is maintaining the temperatures you want. How frustrating is it when your house just won’t get hot or cold enough? They can get right to the root of the problem when they come over.

Especially if you are a student, you want to make sure you keep these visits up. I say that because a problem with your AC or heat can directly affect your electric bill. It is important to save every penny you can for books and food. Without have a company over to check things out, you may have never found that leaky air duct, or improperly functioning pump or coil. All of those things will make your bill go up at the end of the month.

The most important thing that maintenance visits protect is your health. By keeping your appointments you are reducing the number of allergens and toxins released into the air by your systems.

I don’t know why annual appointments are so easily forgotten about. We could all be saving our health and a lot more money just by keeping up our heating and cooling maintenance.

Holly Springs AC

Raleigh Heating Contractor

Cooling Tips For Your Air Conditioning System

Author: Chris Hinde
Source: isnare.com

Interestingly enough a big AC may not be your ideal answer to the summer heat. It might, in fact, provide you less cooling than a smaller unit, since smaller units run longer than bigger ones which tend to click on and off. Running longer permits smaller units to maintain a regular room temperature, remove moisture from the room (thereby getting rid of humidity) and ultimately gives you greater comfort.

Even you are selecting a machine for central air-conditioning size is of considerable importance. This sizing however needs to be done by a pro. When dealing with a central air-conditioning system for your home make sure that the fan shuts off along with the compressor, that is, do not make the central fan for circulate the cool air, use circulating fans for each room instead.

Following are a few cooling tips which will save your air conditioning systems from breaking out in a sweat;

(1) Use whole house fans. These help maintain a cool temperature by dragging cool air through the whole house and throwing out the hot air through the attic. Whole house fans work best during night time when the outdoors is cooler than the indoors.

(2) In the summer months your thermostat should ideally be set as high as possible. The closer the temperatures outside and inside are the less your cooling bill! If your thermostat is set at a colder setting your cooling rate will slow down, the temperature will fall to an uncomfortable level plus your cooling expenses will mount.

(3) Let your fan’s speed be high, unless of course the weather is particularly humid in which case you will be better off setting it at a lower speed.

(4) Use an interior fan to complement your window AC. This will give your AC a helping hand and distribute the cool air better without unnecessarily increasing your electricity bills.

(5) Putting your lamps, TV sets etc. near your thermostat is a big no-no. heat from these appliances can be detected by the thermostat making the AC run unnecessarily long.

(6) Its ok to put trees or shrubs to shade your AC but make sure they don’t come in the way of the airflow. An AC unit functioning under a shade is known to use almost 10% less amount of electricity than one functioning directly under the sun.

Central Air Conditioning For Your Office

Author: Jason Uvios
Source: isnare.com

The efficiency of your workers and their productivity has a direct relation to the kind of work environment they are provided. Among many other things, heat and humidity can be an issue. You sure wouldn’t want your workers to suffer, as that will also hamper your business goals. Providing a cool and refreshing climate to work in always helps you to get the best out of your workers.

Again installing multiple window air conditioners or freestanding air conditioners is also not an option as not only would they look awkward, but also the running cost would be much too high. So the only option you are left with is getting a central air conditioning system installed.

A central air conditioner is a split system and therefore has two parts to it. There is one part which is inside the building and the other part is outside the building which functions as the condensing unit.

Here is a basic description as to how air purifiers work. The objective is to cool the air inside your room. So what it does is it basically it takes the warm air from inside the room and transfers it outside. The refrigerant coil that is inside the room now cools the air inside as the air passes by those coils. The temperature to which the air is cooled depends on the thermostat settings for air conditioner.

Before you invest on a central air conditioning system, you need to consider a few factors. It is a serious investment and it always helps to keep no stones unturned.

Choose a unit that would suit the climate you stay in. You also need to factor in the total cooling load. If you are staying in the hot and arid regions of the southwest you can opt for an evaporative cooler. However, if you are staying anywhere else you should go for a compressor-driven central air conditioner.

The size of the air conditioner will depend on the amount of cooling you need and the area you have to cool.

For a central air conditioner the minimum SEER rating that you should settle for is 12.0 and nothing less than that.

There are also a few features which you should look for like a fan-only switch, a filter check-light and an automatic-delay fan switch. Do not forget to keep in mind the noise level also.

Know All About Central Air Conditioning

Author: Joshua Miller -
Source: articledashboard.com

There are a number of reasons why you should go for central air conditioning. If you are intending to find a way of conditioning the air in a large establishment, like say a building or a big house, central air conditioning is one of the best, if not the only, options you have. The AC system in this case utilizes a split system for condensation and compression. Its evaporator is connected to an air handing mechanism (forced air furnace). The entire machine is packed together as a large unit and put outside the establishment, usually on the roof or an outhouse.

The cool air circulated by the unit is transmitted through the length and the breadth of building. In case you want to alter the temperature you might use the controls provided to each dweller of the establishment. But such controls are not common and many systems come without these making it imperative for all the tenants of the specific house to bear with the general temperature set for the house.

Since the AC system is placed outside the building therefore it does not bother people living in the building with the disturbing humming sound most AC’s make. A superior cleansing system also purifies the air it circulates so that the air you breathe is freed of any irritating allergen, dust particle or other unwanted substance.

Centralizing your AC unit also helps the administrators, engineers or maintenance people of the building to keep a strict check on the electric consumption and voltage requirements of the people in the building, since it leaves no reason for the tenants to run their personal AC units.

Centralized AC also gives you the opportunity to find out and decide the temperature you want, this in turn helps you control your electric bills, since, the more consistent the temperature is the greater control you have over your energy expenses.

An AC’s filtering capacity is a feature you need to pay good attention to while purchasing. Your AC needs to make sure the air you breathe is clean, along with making it cool. In case it fails to do so it will be transmitting pollutants everywhere in the building.

For greater convenience you should probably try and install some means of controlling the temperature of the AC unit from each of your tenants’ apartments. Consult an architect as to how you might do this.

Cooling Tips For Your Air Conditioning System

Author: Chris Hinde -
Source: articledashboard.com

Interestingly enough a big AC may not be your ideal answer to the summer heat. It might, in fact, provide you less cooling than a smaller unit, since smaller units run longer than bigger ones which tend to click on and off. Running longer permits smaller units to maintain a regular room temperature, remove moisture from the room (thereby getting rid of humidity) and ultimately gives you greater comfort.

Even you are selecting a machine for central air-conditioning size is of considerable importance. This sizing however needs to be done by a pro. When dealing with a central air-conditioning system for your home make sure that the fan shuts off along with the compressor, that is, do not make the central fan for circulate the cool air, use circulating fans for each room instead.

Following are a few cooling tips which will save your air conditioning systems from breaking out in a sweat;

(1) Use whole house fans. These help maintain a cool temperature by dragging cool air through the whole house and throwing out the hot air through the attic. Whole house fans work best during night time when the outdoors is cooler than the indoors.

(2) In the summer months your thermostat should ideally be set as high as possible. The closer the temperatures outside and inside are the less your cooling bill! If your thermostat is set at a colder setting your cooling rate will slow down, the temperature will fall to an uncomfortable level plus your cooling expenses will mount.

(3) Let your fan’s speed be high, unless of course the weather is particularly humid in which case you will be better off setting it at a lower speed.

(4) Use an interior fan to complement your window AC. This will give your AC a helping hand and distribute the cool air better without unnecessarily increasing your electricity bills.

(5) Putting your lamps, TV sets etc. near your thermostat is a big no-no. heat from these appliances can be detected by the thermostat making the AC run unnecessarily long.

(6) Its ok to put trees or shrubs to shade your AC but make sure they don’t come in the way of the airflow. An AC unit functioning under a shade is known to use almost 10% less amount of electricity than one functioning directly under the sun.

How To Choose An Air Conditioning Contractor

Author: Christine Loxley -
Source: articledashboard.com

Looking for a good air conditioning contractor? First rule is: take your time! It will take some time and research to find a good air conditioning contractor, but it will be worth it. You want your contractor to be knowledgeable enough to offer a good range of products to choose from… and be able to answer any of your questions fully and professionally.

The majority of air conditioning manufacturers offer a range of products, and many of the manufacturers build their parts with the same parts, so get at least three quotes from similar contractors. Beware of bids that are too low, because those dollars are likely to be cut out somewhere, maybe with bad installation or design.

Of course, there are many air conditioning contractors out there who claim to do the best job, but only a few are actually skilled in the profession. Research the local market and get a good idea of the different products that are out there. Discuss it with your neighbors and friends and see if they can recommend anyone, but then follow it up by doing your own investigating.

Most importantly, find out how long they’ve been in business and get references. Then, compare the contractors’ quotes for capacity and quality equipment. Also, know what kind of air conditioning you want before you sign a deal with any contractor. Sounds obvious, but if you have a clear idea of what’s available and what you want, you’re in a much stronger bargaining position with the contractor.

Some things to think about when seeking out a contractor is whether you choose a smaller or larger business. Smaller contractors often charge less for labor and will fix your unit at a minimal cost, while larger companies tend to have more employees on staff and often work 24 hours a day. Finally, think about after the air conditioner is installed.

After you’ve made your choice, you want to be sure to get a signed contract and warranty statement in order to see that what needs to be done is completed. Then, ask for a completed start-up report after the unit is installed. Most manufacturers provide a commissioning check list with that important equipment information.

Central Air Conditioning For Your Office

Author: Jason Uvios -
Source: articledashboard.com

The efficiency of your workers and their productivity has a direct relation to the kind of work environment they are provided. Among many other things, heat and humidity can be an issue. You sure wouldn’t want your workers to suffer, as that will also hamper your business goals. Providing a cool and refreshing climate to work in always helps you to get the best out of your workers.

Again installing multiple window air conditioners or freestanding air conditioners is also not an option as not only would they look awkward, but also the running cost would be much too high. So the only option you are left with is getting a central air conditioning system installed.

A central air conditioner is a split system and therefore has two parts to it. There is one part which is inside the building and the other part is outside the building which functions as the condensing unit.

Here is a basic description as to how air purifiers work. The objective is to cool the air inside your room. So what it does is it basically it takes the warm air from inside the room and transfers it outside. The refrigerant coil that is inside the room now cools the air inside as the air passes by those coils. The temperature to which the air is cooled depends on the thermostat settings for air conditioner.

Before you invest on a central air conditioning system, you need to consider a few factors. It is a serious investment and it always helps to keep no stones unturned.

Choose a unit that would suit the climate you stay in. You also need to factor in the total cooling load. If you are staying in the hot and arid regions of the southwest you can opt for an evaporative cooler. However, if you are staying anywhere else you should go for a compressor-driven central air conditioner.

The size of the air conditioner will depend on the amount of cooling you need and the area you have to cool.

For a central air conditioner the minimum SEER rating that you should settle for is 12.0 and nothing less than that.

There are also a few features which you should look for like a fan-only switch, a filter check-light and an automatic-delay fan switch. Do not forget to keep in mind the noise level also.

3 Ways the Air Conditioning Effects Fuel Use – How to Save on Gas Mileage Now

Author: Bill Sheers
Source: ezinearticles.com

Listen, most of us want to save money when it comes to fuel. The fact that gas prices have tripled or quadrupled over the last 10 years has made for a mad scramble to find ways to get everything they can out of every last drop of gas. The people who are really hurting are those that have an SUV. Some of those can cost you $60-$80 to fill up. That is just mind boggling!

So we need to take matter into our own hands and start doing the things that will allow us to stretch that tank of gas as far as we can. Gas prices are making people do things they would not have even considered 10 years ago. One way to start is with that little button usually situated right in the middle of your dashboard: the air conditioning. I can hear you now, “nope, it gets to hot. I’m not shutting down the air.” And that is your choice, but if you are looking for a quick fix, this can really save you considerably. Here is what your air conditioning is doing to your performance:

#1 Power

The air conditioning system requires a lot of power to run. In other words, more power equals more gas being used. You will notice your acceleration is pour. So now, not only are you trying power the car you are trying to power the air. More gas being used means bad fuel efficiency for you.

#2 Turning it off

You aren’t going to like it, but turn it off and roll the windows down. Yes, you now may have a little bit of drag, but the drag is nothing as far fuel efficiency compared running the air. So when you can, roll down the windows, get some fresh air, and save a few miles per gallon.

#3 “I’ll only run it on low.”

Well, it’s a good thought, but even at 50% you still might reduce your fuel efficiency by 5% or 10%.

There is really no way around it. Don’t use the air if you don’t have to, especially if you are going on a short trip. If you are going on a trip that is going to take less than 20 minutes, you may as well just throw a dollar out the window rather than turn the air on.

Hey, if you live in Phoenix I know this is not going to fly, but in most of the country you can probably find some times throughout the day when you can roll down the windows.

To look at some of the best gas mileage cars, just click here.