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

Air Conditioners: Increase Efficiency And Reduce Electricity Bills

The SEER Rating

An abbreviation for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio it is unit which helps you understand how efficient your air conditioning unit will be. What the SEER actually provides is a ratio of the cooling output and the power required for that. Of course other variables like climate are also factored in while measuring the SEER ratings for a particular model.

The higher the SEER rating for you air conditioner the better it is for you. O f course, if you want a unit with higher SEER rating you will have to pay extra, but in the long run it is you who stand to gain. And this is because you will be saving much more on your electricity bills than you had been previously. In fact it takes about three to four years for you to appreciate the extra dollars you had paid. Since investing in an air conditioner is a long term thing, you can give yourself three to four years.

So, if you are planning to repair your old air conditioner, our advice would be to get a new one, one with a SEER rating of 12 or more. There is just no point in wasting time and money on an air conditioner with a SEER rating of 7 or 8 in today?s time.

Installation of the Central Air Conditioning System

If you plan to install a central air conditioning system, make sure that the outdoor compressor is installed under a shelter where the compressor will have enough shade. Believe it or not, this alone can reduce the energy consumption of the unit by 10 percent. Also ensure that there is a one-foot airflow all around the unit.

Get a Programmable Thermostat

This is another thing that can cut your energy bills significantly. This would allow you to have the temperature in the room to rise steadily, thus helping the air conditioner to consume less power. And since the temperature change will be gradual, you will also hardly sense it.

Maintenance

Of course, you have to maintain your air conditioner to see that it can perform at its best. Regularly clean the filters and see that the air flow is maintained. It is best to clean the filter once every month. Since it is not much of a hassle, all you got to do is just make a habit of it. It would hardly take any time.

Also clean the coils inside the air conditioner once every year. This will also go a long way in ensuring that the energy efficiency of your air conditioner is maintained at its prime level.

Jason Uvios writes about "Air Conditioners: Increase Efficiency and Reduce Electricity Bills" to visit it:airpurifier,aircondition and airpurify.

Contractors For Air Conditioners

Many of us have been in need of an air conditioning contractor at some point of time. Trouble was ? we hardly knew how to find one. We knew ? we need someone who was good, who was competent. But where can we find someone like that. As with any other search operation, two things are critical to it ? first, give yourself time, if you just happen to bump against an excellent air conditioner contractor on the streets just when you was looking for one, then you are lucky enough to win a lottery. However, if you have are an average sort of person, then you need to allow yourself some time. Secondly, don?t just take time, utilize it. Plan how to look for a contractor and work according to your plan.

What are you looking for in your contractor? He must be knowledgeable to answer any questions you have. He also must have a wide range of air conditioning units to offer for you to choose from.

First lesson would be to get quotes from as many contractors as possible. Least should be three. This would ensure that you can just strike out the ones which are quoting much too variable figures. Someone quoting too low or too high can be left out. Settle for the ones which are near the market average. Of course there will be variation, only ensure that it is not too vast. Someone bidding too low can actually mean that he will be compromising on the installation or the design.

No contractor would claim that they don?t do the best job. It is your duty to find out who actually does a good job. That would need you to research the local market. That would also mean that you will have to talk to your friends and neighbors and relatives to see if they have some good contractor to refer you to. But don?t just go by someone?s recommendation. Always follow it up with your own research.

One important way to find out if the contractor is good to do business with is by finding out how long they have been in the business. If it is for a substantial period of time, then you can guess that their service has been up to the mark allowing them to survive for all those years. Also be particular about the warranty card and other papers that come with the unit. Make sure all of them are properly filled in and duly signed and stamped.

Jason Uvios writes on "Contractors for Air Conditioners" to visit it :- air purifier, air conditioner systems and air quality control

Safe Server Room Cooling: Choosing The Right Portable Air Conditioner For Your Data Center

Even in the winter months, server rooms need the cooling power of portable air conditioners if adequate temperatures can't be reached through building's internal cooling system. In fact, the winter months present a potentially hazardous problem for server rooms. Rooms in many buildings can't be adjusted independently. So while hot air is forced through the vents to keep employees happy, temperatures in server rooms can mount to dangerously high levels. There are several different types of portable air conditioners and choosing the right one for your server room could be critical to the health of your servers.

Ventilation Portable air conditioners for server rooms need some form of ventilation. Otherwise, while cold air blows out the front, hot air will blow right out the back, keeping the overall temperature level except for the area directly in front of the unit. This doesn't mean that you need a window. Though many people imagine a boxy window portable air conditioner when they hear the term "portable air conditioner," this is not the optimal type for a server room. Not only are there more powerful units, but the reduced security of window units isn't ideal for a server room.

The right type of portable conditioners for a server rooms are those that can vent into a drop ceiling via a ventilation tube. If your server room doesn't have a ceiling adequate for ventilation, an outside wall can be modified to accommodate the small circular ventilation tube which forces out the hot air. Unlike portable air conditioners without vents, this type literally draws the hot air out of the room and forces it into another location.

BTU's BTU's or, British Thermal Units, refer to the energy units that a portable air conditioner can produce. Larger rooms need portable air conditioners with larger BTU's. Generally speaking you can use the following guidelines to determine the necessary BTU's needed to cool your room:

BTU's Square Feet 7,500: 150 9,000: 200 10,000: 250 12,000: 350 13,000: 400

Room size isn't the only consideration. In server rooms especially, the heat generated by the servers also must be taken into consideration. To determine the amount of BTU's needed to displace the heat generated by the equipment, multiply the total wattage of all equipment by 3.5. You'll also want to factor in any people who work in the room on a regular basis. To do this, multiply the number of occupants by 400.

Most suppliers of portable air conditioners also offer professional installation. Though they can be easily rolled from room to room, there is a small amount of installation required for venting the displaced air. In the past, larger portable air conditioners required complex wiring, but now some manufactures models, like the Avenger, can be used with a standard plug while still providing serious cooling power. Once installed, your portable air conditioner can run smoothly, quietly, and virtually maintenance-free for years.

For more information on portable air conditioners, visit http://www.Coldair.net

How to compare and find the best air conditioner.

Save your conservatory from the Green House effect this summer. Prevent yourself from wilting like a flower by installing an Air conditioner; we help you decide which one.

Choosing an Air conditioner is still a task which requires a little knowledge and a bit of background, at Text4price we have decided to help you out so you can chill out at your leisure.

Air conditioners can provide very effective and efficient cooling for rooms of all sizes in the home. They also clean the air and control moisture levels which can help with allergies. Portable air conditioners can be the most convenient, moving them from room to room as necessary. However compared to a pedestal fan or air cooler they are much more bulky.

Central air conditioning systems are designed to cool the entire home and usually require professional installation but it is becoming easier to find self installation kits available online or instore and these are much less intrusive.

In most cases and Air conditioner will require access to an open door or window. This is so that the hot air removed from the room can be disposed of  outside. With a portable unit this is a temporary set up, with a hose placed out of the window or door the drawback with this is that you have an unsightly tube trailing across your room.

All Air conditioners are rated in BTUs (British thermal units) per hour. The higher the BTU rating, the more powerful the unit.

It is important to remember that different air conditioners use different amounts of electricity to get rid of the same amount of heat.

Always look at the energy efficiency rating - EER. The higher the EER, the higher the efficiency and the less it will cost to run and the better it will  therefore also be for the environment.

The drawback is that the higher ratings come at a higher price. If it is not displayed on the product packaging or in its description you can always calculate a unit's EER by dividing the number of BTUs per hour by the number of watts of electricity used by the unit.  
 
It is most important to choose the right size of air conditioner  
 
The size you need depends on the size of your room. If you choose a unit that is too small it will not cool the room adequately, however buy too larger a unit and its going to cost you more to operate and may cool the room too quickly, leaving excess moisture in the air.

In addition to the size of the room, you will also need to consider the number and size of the windows and the type of glass they are fitted with as well as  the direction the room faces and the amount of shade available, West facing walls get hotter than south facing walls.

Consider how well insulated the room is and how many people use the room and what other electronic equipment you have in there like TV's etc. Add roughly 600  BTUs for every additional person in the room and typically 1000 BTUs for each appliance.

Then measure the size of the room - width, length and height - before you start shopping. A good salesperson will be able to calculate the correct unit capacity and should therefore be asking you for these measurements and the answers to the above questions.

Finally You should buy the unit that has the correct capacity for the size of your room, with the highest EER that you can afford. But don't forget you can always haggle if you know what the best price is and that's where we can help.

Text find then the product name to 84070 and we'll see if we can track you down  a better deal from an online merchant.

Or visit Text4Price.com to compare prices from online suppliers and track down a cool deal.If you use this article drop us an email at seo@epicado.com and we will link to you.

Updating Your HVAC System

The shock of skyrocketing utilities bills may have you thinking about upgrading your HVAC system?. and rightly so, because there is no chance the fuel costs are going to go down.

The newer heating and air conditioner systems are much more efficient than older units and offer significant long-term energy savings. The Government has mandated that any cooling units should have a SEER rating of at least 13 starting in 2006 and this is good, because a twenty-year unit may have a SEER rating of only 7 or 8. However, for real savings you should look at your whole home as an energy eating beast that needs to be put on a diet. This includes repairing air leaking windows and door seals

It does little good to replace an older HVAC system and expect great reduction in utility bills, if you don?t attend to the areas where you are losing energy. New HVAC systems are expensive and the temptation may be to just install a new high efficiency furnace and air-conditioning system and hope for the best. The fact is, the reduction in utility bills may be disappointing because you may have overlooked a major player in the whole HVAC system?. like the ductwork.

A poorly designed, leaking and under insulated ductwork system can waste 30 percent or more of the money you pay to run your heating and cooling system.and nullify any gain you might realize by installing a new high efficiency system. Many duct systems are poorly insulated and leak conditioned air into un-conditioned attics and crawl spaces. I commonly find disconnected ductwork during my home inspections.

When ducts leak, conditioned air can be forced out unsealed joints and lost. In addition, also un-conditioned air can also be drawn into return ducts through unsealed joints. Attic temperature can be very high in the summer and cold in the winter?so, any attic air that enters your system through un-sealed duct joints will have to be cooled in the summer and heated in the winter, this increases the load on your system and increases your energy bill.

Surprisingly an older home may have a much better designed duct system than a new home and may only need a leak check and insulation upgrade. Newer homes on the other hand may be victim of cost cutting measures and poorly designed duct systems. The use of flex duct has grown in popularity because ease of installation and the high cost of shop made sheet metal ducts. Flex ducts even installed properly are a poor substitute for well designed properly insulated sheet metal ducts. It is common practice to make plenums and coil boxes out of taped together duct board.

Be sure to include an evaluation of your ductwork system in your plans to upgrade your HVAC system. There is no use in exhausting valuable conditioned air to the great outdoors through leaks and worn-out duct insulation. If your duct system needs an overhaul, you might want to consider a high velocity delivery system that uses smaller PVC pipe ducts. These high velocity systems are much easier to install and insulate. The bottom line on a HVAC system upgrade for maximum efficiency must include more than just the new equipment. Don?t forget about the duct work and include it into your budget.

Jim McDonald is a retired contractor and a licensed home inspector

jim@getinfoweb.com