HVAC Systems



             


Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Simple Guide To Saving Big Money With Your Air Conditioner

Depending on where you business or home are located a air conditioner might be a necessary evil and something that you just have to use and don't have a choice about. However there are some simple things that you can do to cut costs and save a good deal of money. Below you will find some simple to follow steps for getting the most form your air conditioner.

Always On? Air conditioning doesn't always have to be on. The first thing you have consider when maintaining an air-conditioning unit is that it doesn't have to always be on. You can schedule the air-conditioning to be turned on during peak hours when the weather is too hot. If you have more than one unit you could rotate them to function depending on their need.

During some parts of the day you only need one or two units to keep the building comfortably cool. And during noontime, you may need all of your units open. Just make sure you study a workable schedule that optimizes the use of your air-conditioning units.

Regular Maintenance Regular maintenance can greatly increase the performance of your air-conditioning units. While regular maintenance may seem like a cost increasing method, it actually reduces the cost of operations for your air-conditioning units. This is because air-conditioning units that aren't well maintained don't perform as well as those that are.

A decrease in the air conditioners performance means it eats more electricity just to arrive at the same temperature than it would normally need. That is why cleaning and maintaining an air-conditioning unit is vital to saving money on their use.

Turn Off Early Always turn off the air-conditioning unit 30 minutes before leaving the building. Some people turn off their air-conditioning units just as they are about to leave the building. The fact is, you can turn off your air-conditioning units a good while before you leave. That is because it takes about 30 minutes for the temperature of the room to go back to being uncomfortable.

The Right Air Conditioner Choose the right kind of air-conditioning. Choosing the right kind of air-conditioning for your room and saving money on electricity costs are synonymous with each other. If you are trying to air-condition a small room, then a smaller horsepower air-conditioner would be sufficient. If you install the larger more energy hungry air-conditioner, you would spend more than you need.

It is important to keep the cost of your air conditioning habits in mind and always try to think about ways you can save money on it's usage. Simple turning it off 30 minutes before leaving work for the day and not using it in the morning can help save a good deal of money. Also making sure that the unit you own fits well with your needs and specific requirements can be a huge help.

For more great information about your money and money saving tips check out Best Guides Money . Including an extensive section on Money Saving Tips

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Options For Air Conditioners

A cool house is a popular thing for people to look forward to on hot, humid summer days. As beautiful as summer is, the heat quickly wears you down and one of the best ways to cool down and relax from the impact of the sun is to walk into a home that is being cooled down with a functioning air conditioning system. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of central air conditioning for their home, apartment, or office. The good news is that there is more than one option when it comes to cooling down the inside of your home.

There are many air conditioning options to choose from that are cost effective and energy efficient. You can choose between all kinds of window air conditioners, portable air conditioners, and portable evaporative coolers to make the summer heat endurable. The hard part isn?t finding a cooling system that you can afford, but rather deciding which cooling system will work best for you. Below we have mentioned some of the important air cooler descriptions for you to consider when determining which type will best suit your needs.

Aside from central cooling, window air conditioners are very common. Homeowners enjoy them because they are affordable and they are powerful enough to cool down a single room or studio. This works out great of you live alone and spend most of your time in a single room such as your bedroom, office, basement, etc. They work best if you have a vertically opening window. Also, they are convenient in that that they do not require any additional ventilation and they save valuable floor space. Furthermore, window air conditioners require very little maintenance and can be programmed to turn on and off whenever you specify.

Portable air conditioners are loved because they can be moved around from one room to the next. People often end up using portable air conditioners as oscillating fans, odor removers or dehumidifiers. Most of them have built in condensation tanks which need to be emptied periodically. These tanks automatically turn off when they become full which keeps water from spilling onto the floor. Other portable systems include a self-evaporation features which automatically ventilates excess moisture out of the room. However, keep in mind that portable air conditioners do require a window ventilation hose to function correctly.

Evaporative coolers, also knows as swamp coolers, work differently then air conditioners. They do not use any type of refrigeration to cool the air. They do, however, use the natural cooling process of evaporating water to cool the air which then gets blown into the room. The pros to evaporative coolers are that they are less expensive than air conditioners and they use much less electricity to cool a room. Furthermore, evaporative coolers are low maintenance and inexpensive to repair in most cases. Keep in mind; these coolers are only effective in hot, humid temperatures.

To learn more about air conditioners, and heating systems visit www.HVACKey.com

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Wednesday, February 13, 2008

High Velocity Air Conditioners

High velocity air conditioners work by delivering air into a room at a high velocity (roughly two feet per second). This creates air currents that circulate cooler air throughout the room or entire house.

The high velocity systems have certain advantages and disadvantages over the conventional forced air system. For example, the conventional systems moves air slowly. You really don't feel the circulation and there can be dead spaces in rooms if vents were not placed properly. High velocity systems places vents in more locations; thus, there is a more consistent airflow and temperature throughout the house. However, since conventional systems use larger ducts, more air passes through and they are silent. The high velocity systems use much smaller tubes to circulate air and are nosier. Conventional systems are also easier on your pocket, as tend to last longer because of the metal ductwork, etc. High velocity tubing deteriorates more often than metal ducts and tubing causes stress on the mechanical components of the unit.

On the plus side, conventional systems are more visible in the home than the high velocity. Conventional systems require more space because of the larger vents, and every room needs a supply and return. The high velocity unit requires much less space and can be set up in one area for the supply and return requirements. Also, the high velocity system is less expensive than the conventional one.

Finally, keep in mind that central cooling systems are not easy to install. There is generally a problem with any installation. Any errors in installation can cause major problems and a major impact on your electric bill. Make sure you get plenty of bids and pick a contractor that you have faith in. The contractor should be experienced and offer you references to check out the work that has been done.

Air Conditioning provides detailed information on Air Conditioning, Air Conditioning Repairs, Central Air Conditioning, Auto Air Conditioning and more. Air Conditioning is affiliated with Chiller Rentals.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

A Cars HVAC System

Not only do we depend on our cars to get us where we want to go, we also depend on them to get us there without discomfort. We expect the heater to keep us warm when it's cold outside, and the air conditioning system to keep us cool when it's hot.
We get heat from the heater core, sort of a secondary radiator, which is part of the car's cooling system. We get air conditioning from the car's elaborate air conditioning system.
Despite its relatively small size, the cooling system has to deal with an enormous amount of heat to protect the engine from friction and the heat of combustion. The cooling system has to remove about 6,000 BTU of heat per minute. This is a lot more heat than we need to heat a large home in cold weather. It's good to know that some of this heat can be put to the useful purpose of keeping us warm.
Air conditioning makes driving much more comfortable in hot weather. Your car's air conditioner cleans and dehumidifies (removes excess moisture), the outside air entering your car. It also has the task of keeping the air at the temperature you select. These are all big jobs. How do our cars keep our "riding environment" the way we like it?
Most people think the air conditioning system's job is to add "cold" air to the interior of the car. Actually, there is no such thing as "cold," just an absence of heat, or less heat than our bodies are comfortable with. The job of the air conditioning system is really to remove the heat that makes us uncomfortable, and returns the air to the car's interior in a "un-heated" condition. Air conditioning, or cooling, is really a process of removing heat from an object (like air).
A compressor circulates a liquid refrigerant called Refrigerant-12 (we tend to call it "Freon," a trade name, the way we call copy machines "Xerox" machines). The compressor moves the Refrigerant-12 from an evaporator, through a condenser and expansion valve, right back to the evaporator. The evaporator is right in front of a fan that pulls the hot, humid air out of the car's interior. The refrigerant makes the hot air's moisture condense into drops of water, removing the heat from the air. Once the water is removed, the "cool" air is sent back into the car's interior. Aaaaaah! Much better. Newer cars have R-134 as the refrigerant, but work in the same way as R-12.
Sometimes we worry when we catch our car making a water puddle on the ground, but are relieved to discover that it's only water dripping from the air conditioning system's condenser (no color, no smell, and it dries!).
Note: Refrigerant is extremely dangerous. Many special precautions must be taken when it is present. It can freeze whatever it contacts (including your eyes), it is heavier than air and can suffocate you, and it produces a poisonous gas when it comes in contact with an open flame.
The above information is directly from the Auto Insight program, which you can buy online from AutoEducation.com.
Common Problems:

From time to time the A/C system needs to be recharged to bring it back up to maximum efficiency. Sometimes a leak may cause loss of refrigerant and will need to be fixed before refilling. It's difficult to tell if a leak is present without specific test equipment so let it up to a professional.
Corrosion will cause the heater core (secondary radiator) to leak. This will manifest itself by leaving steam into the passenger compartment and fogging your windows. You will know there is a leak by the sweet smell coming from your vents. Unfortunately changing the heater core is usually not the easier job in the world, as engineers tend to squeeze them into some pretty tight spaces under the dash.
We get heat from the heater core, sort of a secondary radiator, which is part of the car's cooling system. We get air conditioning from the car's elaborate air conditioning system.
Despite its relatively small size, the cooling system has to deal with an enormous amount of heat to protect the engine from friction and the heat of combustion. The cooling system has to remove about 6,000 BTU of heat per minute. This is a lot more heat than we need to heat a large home in cold weather. It's good to know that some of this heat can be put to the useful purpose of keeping us warm.
Air conditioning makes driving much more comfortable in hot weather. Your car's air conditioner cleans and dehumidifies (removes excess moisture), the outside air entering your car. It also has the task of keeping the air at the temperature you select. These are all big jobs. How do our cars keep our "riding environment" the way we like it?
Most people think the air conditioning system's job is to add "cold" air to the interior of the car. Actually, there is no such thing as "cold," just an absence of heat, or less heat than our bodies are comfortable with. The job of the air conditioning system is really to remove the heat that makes us uncomfortable, and returns the air to the car's interior in a "un-heated" condition. Air conditioning, or cooling, is really a process of removing heat from an object (like air).
A compressor circulates a liquid refrigerant called Refrigerant-12 (we tend to call it "Freon," a trade name, the way we call copy machines "Xerox" machines). The compressor moves the Refrigerant-12 from an evaporator, through a condenser and expansion valve, right back to the evaporator. The evaporator is right in front of a fan that pulls the hot, humid air out of the car's interior. The refrigerant makes the hot air's moisture condense into drops of water, removing the heat from the air. Once the water is removed, the "cool" air is sent back into the car's interior. Aaaaaah! Much better. Newer cars have R-134 as the refrigerant, but work in the same way as R-12.
Sometimes we worry when we catch our car making a water puddle on the ground, but are relieved to discover that it's only water dripping from the air conditioning system's condenser (no color, no smell, and it dries!).
Note: Refrigerant is extremely dangerous. Many special precautions must be taken when it is present. It can freeze whatever it contacts (including your eyes), it is heavier than air and can suffocate you, and it produces a poisonous gas when it comes in contact with an open flame.
The above information is directly from the Auto Insight program, which you can buy online from AutoEducation.com.
Common Problems:

From time to time the A/C system needs to be recharged to bring it back up to maximum efficiency. Sometimes a leak may cause loss of refrigerant and will need to be fixed before refilling. It's difficult to tell if a leak is present without specific test equipment so let it up to a professional.
Corrosion will cause the heater core (secondary radiator) to leak. This will manifest itself by leaving steam into the passenger compartment and fogging your windows. You will know there is a leak by the sweet smell coming from your vents. Unfortunately changing the heater core is usually not the easier job in the world, as engineers tend to squeeze them into some pretty tight spaces under the dash.
Kevin Schappell maintains http://www.carbuyersclub.com where he gives advice on buying, selling, insurance, and financing. A mechanical engineer and car guy, Kevin has decided to spend his online time helping others learn about automobiles. To learn more about how your car works, Kevin has createdhttp://www.mycarwizard.com

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