Automotive Air Conditioners

It's August, the car is jammed with kids and luggage, and you're finally on your way to the cottage. Suddenly you realize that your car's air conditioning system is on the fritz, and your family vacation really starts to heat up.

Automotive air conditioning systems were first introduced in 1940 to address customer demands for relief from unbearable heat. These systems use refrigerant to cool the air and remove the heat from the car's passenger compartment. Air conditioning also cleans the air that enters the car, and removes excess moisture as it dehumidifies the air.

There are three basic components to any automotive air conditioner system:

1. Compressor--Considered the heart of the air conditioning system, the compressor transfers and compresses refrigerant gas to let the heat out of the car.

2. Condenser--removes heat from the refrigerant and cools down the high-pressure gasses.

3. Evaporator--Acts as the heater core of the air conditioning system. The evaporator removes the heat from inside the car. The refrigerant then condenses the air and transforms it into water.

Cars manufactured in 1995 or later have been equipped with R-134A air conditioning system. These ozone-friendly units do not contain CFCs, are nontoxic and nonflammable.

Prior to 1995, automotive air conditioners came with R-12 refrigerant, most commonly Freon. During that time, a car owner experiencing air conditioner problems needed only to visit a local retailer to purchase a recharge kit. With a can of Freon and basic knowledge, the average driver could easily repair his or her own air conditioning system. When studies confirmed that R-12 systems were contributing to the damaged ozone layer, many countries including the United States banned their manufacture.

Common Problems
The most common complaint about automotive air conditioners, particularly R-134 systems, is the odor that permeates from the A/C vents. Mechanics and car manufacturers have concluded that accumulated bacteria and fungus in the evaporator core likely cause the odor. Because the air conditioning system is loaded with moisture, it attracts microbes. The solution offered by automakers is to make the blower motor effective in drying out the evaporator after the A/C system is turned off. General Motors introduced this breakthrough, called Electronic Evaporator Dryer.

This solution might offer relief to some car owners, but not to all. Installing this system can cost hundred of dollars. As a result, many car owners have resorted to finding alternative methods of fighting the odor. Using antibacterial chemicals such as Lysol can be an effective short-term solution. Keeping a can of Lysol handy can go along way for your odorous air problem. Just spay the Lysol inside the car, and in the air intake once a week, for temporary relief from the problem. Another way to help eliminate the odor is to shut off the A/C unit at least one mile before reaching your destination. This will allow enough time for the evaporator to dry out, essentially doing away with the moisture and microbes that cause odor. This can be the easiest and least expensive method in combating the issue.

Caring For Your A/C System

* To keep working efficiently, your automotive air conditioner must be recharged from time to time, depending on how often it is are used. Consult your mechanic or your owner's manual for information about system recharges.

* Call your mechanic if you see water leaking from the A/C system's condenser, as this can affect the refrigerant. Have the system repaired before refilling it.

* Replacing the filter once every three months will also help to maintain the performance of your automotive air conditioning system. This is where dust builds up when the A/C system is running.

* Setting the gauge at one specific temperature will also help it perform well. If you constantly switch from one temperature to another, your system will have trouble adjusting accordingly.

Automotive air conditioners can be a driver's best friend, whether you're traveling across town or from coast to coast. Keep your A/C unit well maintained, and keep your cool on the road.

Charles Jackson contributes to several web magazines, on recreation and hobbies and travel and recreation subjects

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

Business Data Security: A Guide To Server Room Cooling With Portable Air Conditioners

Most buildings aren't designed specifically for the unique needs of a server room, so it's no wonder that many server rooms aren't properly designed in terms of cooling. The solution for most has been to bring in portable air conditioners or spot coolers to take the unique needs of the server room.

Computers and server room equipment need to be kept cool-even in the winter months when heat is being pumped into the building to keep the staff warm. Because there normally isn't a way for the hot air to be diverted from the server room and even less likely that a building's HVAC system allows for controlled temperatures on a room-to-room basis, the problem is a serious one.

Choosing a portable air conditioner: There are several different features to look for when comparing portable air conditioners for use in a server room. The first is the number of BTU's that the spot cooler produces. BTU's, or British Thermal Units are the metric that determines how much heat a particular portable air conditioner can displace.

In order to arrive at the number of BTU's necessary for a portable air conditioner to cool your server room, you'll need to take measurements of the room and any windows in the room, add up the total wattage for the equipment in the room, count the number of lights in the room, and document the number of regular occupants. A portable air conditioning expert can then use this data to recommend a spot cooler with the right number of BTU's to do the job. It's a good idea to get more BTU's than you need currently to handle future growth.

Monitoring the temperature: The ideal temperature for a server room is between 68 and 71 degrees. An acceptable range is between 50 and 82 degrees. Any hotter and you're risking damage to your server chips. When getting a temperature read on the room, keep in mind the number of occupants that spend most of their day in the data center or server room. A person working in the room can add a good deal of body heat, enough to displace about 400 BTU's of cooling power. Also, the current temperature outside will affect the room, as will the air conditioning or heat filling the remainder of the building.

What you'll need is a way to consistently monitor the temperature of the room to ensure that your portable air conditioner is maintaining the temperature properly. There are motoring devices that generate an alert when data center temperatures get out of range and can even point out any hotspots in the data center. Even if your portable air conditioner is doing its job on the overall temperature of the room, it's important to identify hot spots where small fans may be necessary.

The potential cost of not addressing the issue is disastrous. Imagine what your company would do tomorrow if suddenly all of your critical data was gone or inaccessible for several days. The process of brining in adequate cooling for your data center isn't a difficult one. Portable air conditioners can be rolled in and used immediately with about 20 minutes of set up time by a portable air conditioning specialist. Once your server room cooling system is set up, you can rest easy knowing that you've taken precautions to preserve your company's data.

For more information on server room cooling units, 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.

Window and Portable Air Conditioners

Window Air Conditioners - How To Reduce The Noise Level

Perhaps the most widely used air conditioners are the window air conditioners. They are quite popular for heating and cooling in both domestic and commercial premises. The basic advantage of a window air conditioner is that unlike the central air conditioners and the split air conditioners, it fits well in the window giving a good look and it does not occupy any space of the room at all.

Moreover, window air conditioners do not need to be shifted every now and then from one place to the other. However, like any other air conditioning equipment, it produces noise, the intensity of which differs with the type and size of the window air conditioners. Constant noise can indeed be very disturbing and distressing to the home and surrounding residents.

It is, therefore, advisable for the consumer to compare window air conditioners by checking the sound power level labels on the unit or in the literature specifications. The noise levels are often given in decibel ratings and the higher the decibel level, the louder the unit will be. The sound pressure increases by a factor of ten for every 10-decibel increase. For example, 60 Decibels is 10 times louder than 50 Decibels and 100 times louder than 40 Decibels.

The compressor and the fan are combined in a single unit and mounted in the window air conditioners and this is the source of all the noise in the air conditioner. The other causes of noise could be worn bearings, cabinet rattles, dirty or rusty fan blades, worn rubber mountings and compressor wear. Regular maintenance can reduce the noise to some extent but with the passing of time, there is bound to be an increase in the level of the noise.

You should check whether your window air conditioner is vibrating or producing a rattling noise and if so, then it is not a normal situation. The reason for this can be improper installation or loose side panels. If, however, you hear a scraping noise, you should either take the help of an authorized service provider or you can also try to find out the cause and repair it yourself.

The following steps can help you in tracking the fault and repairing it:

You should tighten the screws holding the front panel onto the unit. You should check carefully the window all round the unit. You should then turn the window air conditioner on and press your hand against the sash. If you find that as you press your hand against the sash, the sound changes in pitch, then you should put some wooden shims in the gap between the window air conditioners frame and the sash. If, however, the pitch of the noise changes when you press your hand on the glass, you should use some insulating cellophane tape between the glass and the frame. You might have to use putty if that does not reduce the noise.

If you feel that the sound is originating from within the unit, you should take the unit out of the window and check to see if the fan blades are bent. If so, just bend them back so that they match the others.

Portable Air Conditioners Ensure Economy And Convenience

With the onset of the damp weather, it becomes difficult to survive without constant central air conditioning but that can prove to be quite expensive. The answer to this problem is a portable air conditioner as it has many advantages. It is easy to shift from one place in the home to another and that makes a portable air conditioner the ideal cooling system solution for your home, office or industrial site.

The portable air conditioners are easy and quick to install, as they do not involve any lifting or tearing up of windowsills. Moreover it can be shifted very easily from one place in the home to the other. For taking care of the hot spots in the central air conditioning, the portable air conditioners are far more convenient than window air conditioners. It is also ideal for window shapes, which present problems for installation. There is nothing like portable air conditioners for use as a spot cooler in the home.

A portable air conditioner is an excellent choice for saving money as just one unit needs to be purchased and it can be shifted easily to where you need it as it is mounted on castors and some can weigh only about 36 pounds. Moreover, as only one room is cooled at a time instead of the whole house, the total energy consumption is very low as compared to other air conditioning systems.

Another advantage of portable air conditioners is the energy efficiency that they provide. The average efficiency is in the 8 to 10 range although some are as high as 15, which is 50 percent better than most older central air conditioners. The small size of the portable air conditioners is very advantageous and as such it can fit in a corner or against a wall. It functions like an effective dehumidifier if you do not vent the warm exhaust air out through a window and its size is also the same as that of a room dehumidifier.

In order to reduce humidity and allergies, even the small ones remove 35 pints of moisture per day from the room air. The portable air conditioners also use the heat-exchange principle as the other air conditioners to cool and dehumidify the air. The operating principle is also similar to a window air conditioner as the room air circulates over cold evaporator coils to cool and dehumidify it inside the unit. The room air is exhausted outdoor after flowing over the hot condenser. There is no chance of already-cooled indoor air escaping outside as two ducts are now used.

Nowadays, you have electronic controls in most models and you can set the desired room temperature, blower speed, start and stop timer, and operation mode (cool, dehumidify, heat). The portable air conditioners also have hand-held remote control with which you can conveniently change all the settings as per your need.

The other features of portable air conditioners include a built-in air cleaner with an optional charcoal filter and oscillating louvers to distribute the cool air throughout the room. You can also switch off the louvers to direct the flow of air towards yourself, if you so desire.

Air Conditioners

Air conditioning

Are Hybrid Cars Hazardous?

With all of the talk of hybrid vehicles many people are singing their praises about these lightweight, fuel-efficient cars. But are there hazards to driving a hybrid? Is there really anything to worry about? Let's take a closer look at potential hybrid hazards.

One of the biggest concerns often talked about when it comes to hybrid vehicles has to do with those personnel responding to accidents involving a hybrid. Many traditional looking cars such as the Honda Accord and Ford Escape are being built with hybrid engines and rescuers might experience some difficulty at the scene of an accident identifying one as such. The reason the identification is crucial is that as compared to conventional gas powered cars, hybrid vehicles have a tremendous amount of electricity coursing through them and thus could cause injury to rescuers and further injury to drivers already hurt by the crash. Many people believe that the solution to this problem is for automakers to affix a label on the driver's side visor stating that it is a hybrid vehicle, equip with all the features that this kind of car entails.

New hybrids are bursting onto the market at an increasing rate and therefore all first responders need to be taught about ways in which hybrid cars differ from more traditional non-hybrid models. Lack of education could result in safety measures being compromised and injuries taking place. To use the battery in a hybrid to illustrate the point, in some hybrid models the battery carries with it a charge of up to 500 volts and is powered both by gasoline and electricity. Compare this with the voltage of a typical non-hybrid car, which is in the area of 12 volts. First responders need to be taught where the battery is located in a hybrid car and how to cut the cables without risking being electrocuted by the high voltage that the battery puts out. This is particularly important when machinery such as the Jaws of Life is required to physically remove a passenger in imminent danger from a car. It cannot be emphasized enough, without proper training, more serious injury, and even death, could result.

This problem is being addressed by manufacturers of hybrids with Honda and Toyota going to the front of the line on safety procedures. Hybrid cars are being suited with color codes so first responders can easily comprehend the flow of electricity in the car. Honda hybrids use the color bright orange to designate the high-voltage power line which helps reduce safety risks for rescuers responding to calls.

Concerns about hybrid hazards have led Honda and Toyota to create their own individual safety guides for rescue personnel. Every fire department in the United States received a copy of these guides to be made available for their staff to educate themselves. Toyota has just completed new guides for its latest hybrid vehicles, the Highlander and Lexus. These guides can easily be read online by any member of the public, whether they are emergency workers or not.

In South Florida, with its many canals, many people have expressed concerns about the hybrid hazards involved in water submersion, as these kinds of accidents are common in this area of the state. Manufacturers of hybrid vehicles say that the only thing emergency personnel need to keep in mind in regard to safety issues is to remember to make sure the car's ignition is turned off once it is out of the water.

Speaking of the car being turned off, that is another issue for hot debate when it comes to talk of hybrid hazards. Hybrid cars are made differently than traditional gas powered vehicles in that it is not always easy to tell if they are off or still running. Most traditional cars one need only feel the hood of the car to make a correct determination but hybrids can be tricky- a hybrid can appear to be turned off when in actual fact it is in silent electric mode and very able to plow over an unsuspecting person if any movement or pressure is applied to the accelerator. One possible solution to this serious hazard put forth by the fire department in Texas is to place chocks under the wheels if it is not known whether the car's ignition is still on or not.

Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida with his 16 year old son. Get car care products for your car from http://www.shineyourcar.com