Can Air Conditioners Make You Fat?

During the hot summer months as soon as we return home from work the first thing we do is turn on the air conditioner. Yes it helps to keep us cool and comfortable, but seldom do we actually think that it can have effects that are harmful to us. But as recent research shows, air conditioners can actually make us fat.

The most modern of technologies like air conditioning and heating make us live in a thermoneutral zone. What this means is that we get used to living at a temperature where there is no need for our body to regulate its temperature. It is only when our body?s temperature is below or above this thermoneutral zone that it works to attain that level. In the process it needs energy and as a result it has to burn calories supplied by our body.

In fact David Allison, the director of Clinical Nutrition Research Center at the University of Alabama in Birmingham holds that the air conditioner might be one of the several factors that are behind the obesity problem that has reached almost epidemic proportions in America.

He actually enlists a number of factors that can be contributing to this obesity explosion besides fast food and lack of exercise. These include lack of sleep, certain medications and even things like quitting smoking as it can increase snacking when the individual becomes desperate for a comfort food.

It is suggested that the use of air conditioners should be restricted as much as possible. Since most, if not all modern offices come with air conditioners these days, it wouldn?t be possible for a working individual to avoid the effects of air conditioning all day. But at least when he is home, he can limit the use of the air conditioner. He can fix a certain time in the day, only when he will allow himself the comforts of the air conditioner. The rest of the time he has to do with a ceiling fan.

There are also skeptics who can?t quite buy this theory. Their argument is that, people all over the world are living in different climactic conditions and they still are thin. So air conditioning shouldn?t play a role. The skeptics also seem to have a point. So the whole topic needs further research.

At the end of the day, good eating habits and regular exercise are the best way to stay clear of obesity.

Jason Uvios writes on "Can Air Conditioners Make You Fat?" to visit it :- air conditioner repair, buy air conditioners and air condition

How To Get The Most Out Of Your Air Conditioner

Your basic air conditioner continually takes air from outside, cools it, and then returns it to one or more rooms within your house. A properly installed air conditioner can cool up to fifty cubic tonnes of air each year. Read on to learn more about these remarkable machines and how they can add value to your home.

1. Choosing Your Air Conditioner

The back yard is the most common place to find a central air conditioning unit. One reason to choose a free standing unit over the more poweful central air system is that it can be brought with you when you move.

During the cooling season, clean the filter on a room air conditioner every 30 days. This lets more cool airflow into the room and reduces airborne dirt, lint and pollen. Keep your air conditioner out of direct sunlight and seal the window to reduce air leakage.

2. Both Units Can Benefit From A Cover

A solid investment is a cover for your central air system. Not only will it keep debris like snow and leaves out, but it will significantly extend the life of your unit. Some covers are also designed to minimize noise.

Don't set your thermostat to a cooler temperature setting than normal when you first turn on your air conditioner. Your home will cool no faster and you will end up wasting energy.

3. The Importance Of Changing Your Filter

Even if you don't need an air conditioner for feeling cool in the summer, you can still put one to good use. Conditioners will filter the air through, well, a filter, and this can be a great boon to anyone that has a baby, has asthma, or suffers from allergies. Dust slowly collects inside the filter that must be changed once every six months. If you do not change the filter regularly it can cause your air conditioner to not work anymore. In addition, you and your family might not be breathing clean air.

For more great air conditioner related articles and resources check out http://airconditionerplanet.info

The Essential Guide To Buying And Maintaining An Air Conditioner

Central air conditioners take air from the outside and filter it while simultaneously letting the old air out. The more powerful versions of this item are so powerful that they have to be kept away from children or else they might get hurt. The reason they are so powerful is to provide air to multiple rooms at once.

1. Thinking About Choosing A Free Standing Or Central Unit

One of the major benefits of using a central air system over a free standing system is that the outdoors nature of the unit means you will have much lower noise levels inside your home. Of course, being outside carries with it added concerns - you will need to keep the unit free of snow and other obstructions in order for it to work properly. It also is considerably more expensive than a free standing unit.

2. Should You Get A Cover For Your Air Conditioner?

A solid investment is a cover for your central air system. Not only will it keep debris like snow and leaves out, but it will significantly extend the life of your unit. They also keep dust and small insects away from the body of the air conditioner and its different components. Some better-quality Covers can also absorb the vibration of the air conditioner, and reduce the noise it creates.

3. Changing Your Filter Is Essential

If you suffer from allergies, have a baby, or have trouble sleeping at night, you might want to consider getting an air conditioner even if you don't have trouble staying cool during summertime. As a thin layer of dust appears on the filter it becomes more difficult for the machine to pass air through. Eventually it will become so difficult that the machine will break down. For this reason, and the health of your family, it is an excellent idea to change the filter as often as you can.
For more great air conditioner related articles and resources check out http://topairconditioners.info

Central Air Conditioners

When buying new central air conditioning equipment, it is very important to have the work done by a qualified contractor. Most review sites and available information say that the best way to save money on a central conditioning unit is by hiring a good contractor. This is followed in close second by picking an energy efficient system. A proper installation of a central air conditioner will ensure that the unit is tightly sealed and no energy is wasted thought leaky ducts thus saving as much money as possible.

When speaking of saving money through efficient air conditioning systems the topic of SEER usually comes up.Central air conditioners are rated by something called SEER or seasonal energy efficiency ratio. Without going into details, the higher the SEER the more efficient your central conditioning system is thus saving you money and helping the environment through less power demand.

Most central air cooling systems run on Freon and have for many years but this is apparently going to change. Freon will be replaced by a newer refrigerant called Puron that is friendlier to the environment no later than 2010. The good news about this is that although Puron powered central air conditioners may cost more initially, the Freon machines and parts are going to get scarce. Getting scarce parts for your conditioning unit will cost you as all the older machines start to break down and need repairs, but parts are harder to find.

Speaking of costs, this is the one glaring down point of a central cooling system. While cost may not be an issue for some, the central air conditioner unit is the most expensive way to cool your house on the initial investment. Because the conditioning unit must be installed and venting systems run, you will have to hire a contractor. Therefore part of the cost of getting a central cooling system will depend the flexible pricing of the local contractor. With the unit air conditioning systems this is not an issue, but again with the unit systems you can only cool one room at a time and they could be a bit of an eye sore in a posh setting.

Ray Burton explains about different kinds of air conditioners, how they work and what to look for when buying your first portable or window air conditioner unit

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