Reducing the Costs of Heating and Cooling

Heating and cooling in Hickory make up the large majority of our utility costs, so it stands to reason that controlling those two things can save money. There are a number of ways to do that which are just common sense, but also a few you may not have considered.

The Scary Truth about Electrical Hazards in the Home and How to Avoid Them

Electricity is the most dangerous and scariest hazard in the home. It is completely odorless, it is silent, and it moves at record-defying speeds. When it strikes, it can destroy objects and property in its path. If an object is a human, electricity can cause severe disfigurement or disability – if it doesn’t first kill that person.

When and Why Should Air Conditioning Filters Be Replaced?

Your air conditioner has an important job to do in the summer months. It has to keep the indoor humidity level and temperature comfortable. If the thought of living without your air conditioning system is daunting, it’s advisable to have it regularly maintained to ensure it keeps humming along.

What you personally can do to help it function at its best is to replace the filters when needed. You’ll soon come to know the importance of air conditioning filters when your family starts getting sick or when your cooling costs increase.

Solar Air Conditioning: Putting The Sun To Work In Your Home

A residential solar-energy system uses solar modules, made up of photovoltaic (PV) cells, to harvest the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity that can be used to power your lights, appliances and other electrical devices in the home. Solar energy is an infinitely renewable resource that uses the sun’s rays to generate the electricity you need. By going solar, you can reduce your energy costs and lower your dependence on fossil fuels. Here's an overview of the types of home solar energy systems available.

Why Your Home's A/C Freezes Up In Summer

Here's the all-to-familiar scenario with our average homeowner, whom we'll call Frank. He's at home, minding his own business, happily a bowl of popcorn and a b-movie... when he notices that awful sound; drip... drip... drip... Frank looks over to see the cat licking at a puddle that's slowly forming on the kitchen floor. Suddenly: worry, stress, and that awful sinking feeling. What will the leak mean for his budget, and where did it come from; water heater, leaky toilet, shower, faucet? Nope. It's the air conditioner of all things. Frank's central air conditioner is frozen solid. But, there's hope.

How To Avoid AC Repair Scams

It's an unfortunate circumstance, but we see it happen about this time every year... our industry's worst-kept secret; unskilled or even unethical air conditioning contractors seem to come out of the woodwork. You may have even seen some of the stories or “stings” recently on the evening news.

The Tell-tale Signs
Here are some of the more common signs you may be targeted by these scrupulous folks. They tend to have:

• Little or no professional brochures or information available on their products, services, guarantees or warranties
• Limited company information - no web site, or a simple one page web site
• No proof of insurance or bonding
• No BBB accreditation and/or a low grade
• Minimal longevity in the marketplace

Advantages of VRV

Individual control
 
Conventional systems air-condition a building as a whole, whereas the VRV system air conditions each room individually. Hence it is ideal for the constantly changing occupancy of a typical building. Even further, precise level control is possible that reacts to the exact conditions in each room. Individual control promotes a far more economical and efficient system.
 

Understanding Solar Panels

It is really lucky that we do not need to completely understand how solar panels work to take advantage of the technology. It would take a pretty long physics lesson to even come close to comprehending the world of photo voltaic arrays. What is relatively easy to learn about, however, is how to put a system to work for your home.

Solar panels can be purchased already constructed, which, unless you are a very adept do-it-yourself person, is the best route to take. Since energy power is measured in watts or kilowatts, what you will need to know is how many kilowatts per hour (kWh) you need to power the solar panels for your home or business.

Air Filter Types – Pros and Cons

There are five categories of air filters you can use for your air conditioning system. Each one has good points and downsides, so it is important to understand each when deciding which is right for you and your family. Pollutants come in many sizes, and the type of filter determines which sizes are captured and which are not.

The Scary Truth about Electrical Hazards in the Home and How to Avoid Them

Electricity is the most dangerous and scariest hazard in the home. It is completely odorless, it is silent, and it moves at record-defying speeds. When it strikes, it can destroy objects and property in its path. If an object is a human, electricity can cause severe disfigurement or disability – if it doesn't first kill that person.

Understanding Solar Panels

It is really lucky that we do not need to completely understand how solar panels work to take advantage of the technology. It would take a pretty long physics lesson to even come close to comprehending the world of photovoltaic arrays. What is relatively easy to learn about, however, is how to put a system to work for your home.

Solar panels can be purchased already constructed, which, unless you are a very adept do-it-yourself person, is the best route to take. Since energy power is measured in watts or kilowatts, what you will need to know is how many kilowatts per hour (kWh) you need to power the solar panels for your home or business.

New Air Conditioning for Old Houses

High noon will turn many a classic home into a summertime sweatbox. And while noisy window-mounted air conditioners can lower temperatures, they are just as apt to spoil a charming exterior. Unfortunately, many old homes don’t have a convenient space to install ductwork for a traditional central air-conditioning system. Lowering ceilings or building out walls to hide supply and return ducts is expensive, and can blemish indoor spaces. Sometimes the attic or basement can hold the ductwork, but it’s still a shame to chop big chunks out  of original plaster ceilings, wood floors, or wainscoting to place air registers.

Benefits of Air Conditioning ?

The benefits of Air Conditioning are to give a comfortable environment at work or at home throughout the seasons, Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

An Air Conditioning unit can have two functions - heating and cooling.With an auto changeover switch on most new units, you set the temperature and the unit will cool or heat as required automatically.

Also air purification is another benefit as an anti-fungus filter is used in most modern air conditioning units. This catches allergy-causing mites, smoke particles and odors, making the air in your environment clean and fresh.

Most of us take the ability to warm our homes for granted, but few appreciate the benefits of being able to remove unwanted heat during the summer months.

Air Conditioning - Tips for Reducing Energy Usage in the Summer

Summer is a great time to get out and enjoy some outdoor activities while the weather is warm. However, we all need to come home to a nice cool home which means that having a good air conditioning system is absolutely critical. One thing that homeowners dread about the summer is the increase in energy usage that comes with running the AC more often.


Read on below to learn about how you might be able to reduce the amount of energy that you use in your home for air conditioning.

Top Tips for Choosing an Air Conditioner

All air conditioners are designed to cool—that is, to remove heat and humidity from interior spaces. If you are in the process of choosing an air conditioner, heed these important considerations before you buy.
Types of Air Conditioners
1. Window units
2. Through-the-wall units
3. Portable units
4. Central or whole-home units
Window units are the most popular air conditioners, and for DIYers, they are the easiest to install and remove. This type of air conditioner fits in a window opening and vents to the outside.
Through-the-wall units are larger and heavier than window units. Rather than sitting in a window, a through-the-wall unit rests within a weight-supporting air conditioner sleeve set into an exterior wall. Electric circuitry must be reviewed, especially in older homes, because these units often require greater amperage and voltage.

Should You Have Ductable Or Split ACs In Offices?

It is that time of the year when the heat is unrelenting and the only way out is to find yourself the cool environs of an air conditioned room. A hot office, or even a badly air conditioned office can severely hamper your work output and affect productivity. The best choice for any commercial establishment or office is to go for full air conditioning to improve office atmosphere and ensure that the heat is not hindering your bottom line.

If you are looking for air-conditioning facilities in your office, there are basically two choices before you – you can either go for Ductable or go for Split air-conditioners for your establishment.

Ductable air-conditioners are basically the indoor units of a centralized air-conditioning system. These are called ductable because they use ducts to connect to an air handling unit (AHU) which is located on a mechanical room adjacent to the office area. The refrigerant/chilled water cools and dehumidifies the air in the AHU. The cool air is then circulated throughout the building through the ductwork.

Chilled-water and Cooling-tower AC Units

Although standard air conditioners are very popular, they can use a lot of energy and generate quite a bit of heat. For large installations like office buildings, air handling and conditioning is sometimes managed a little differently.
Some systems use water as part of the cooling process. The two most well-known are chilled water systems and cooling tower air conditioners.
Chilled water systems - In a chilled-water system, the entire air conditioner is installed on the roof or behind the building. It cools water to between 40 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit (4.4 and 7.2 degrees Celsius). The chilled water is then piped throughout the building and connected to air handlers. This can be a versatile system where the water pipes work like the evaporator coils in a standard air conditioner. If it's well-insulated, there's no practical distance limitation to the length of a chilled-water pipe.

Air-conditioning Basics

Air conditioners use refrigeration to chill indoor air, taking advantage of a remarkable physical law: When a liquid converts to a gas (in a process called phase conversion), it absorbs heat. Air conditioners exploit this feature of phase conversion by forcing special chemical compounds to evaporate and condense over and over again in a closed system of coils.

The compounds involved are refrigerants that have properties enabling them to change at relatively low temperatures. Air conditioners also contain fans that move warm interior air over these cold, refrigerant-filled coils. In fact, central air conditioners have a whole system of ducts designed to funnel air to and from these serpentine, air-chilling coils.

To Get An AC Repair or A New Air Conditioner

AC Repair or New AC, That Is The Question

It's at least one question concerning many homeowners during this initial summer heatwave, as they see their AC repair costs increasing; "Should I pay $300, $500, even $700+ to repair my old central air conditioner, or $3,000, $5,000, $7,000+ to install a new air conditioner?" How did we find ourselves in this situation? The answer is a government ban on the R-22 refrigerant in your home's central AC system.

4 Myths About Electricity That Will Impact How Much Energy Your HVAC System Uses

There are various myths concerning your HVAC system that should be debunked to help you get the best performance and efficiency from your system.The facts can also lead to energy savings, which all Southwest Florida homeowners appreciate.

Here are three of the most prevalent myths and the real truth:

Why You may need Air Conditioning Maintenance

When you've got air conditioning installed in your house then you will want to make certain regular maintenance is carried out.

There are plenty of main reasons why regular conditioning maintenance is necessary before it's carried out it is advisable to ensure your engineer is properly accredited and will supply you with all of the correct paperwork to prove that the system is fit to get used.

In public like offices you must find out what the regulations surrounding safety are and just how often maintenance checks on all the parts of the building need to be completed to ensure that safety rules are being followed.

Once you have employed the assistance of an experienced maintenance engineer they'll be able to carry out regular checks and give you the correct paperwork to indicate that your checks have been executed correctly.

Air Conditioner's Parts

Let's get some housekeeping topics out of the way before we tackle the unique components that make up a

standard air conditioner. The biggest job an air conditioner has to do is to cool the indoor air. That's not all it does, though. Air conditioners monitor and regulate the air temperature via a thermostat. They also have an on board filter that removes airborne particulates from the circulating air. Air conditioners function as dehumidifiers. Because temperature is a key component of relative humidity, reducing the temperature of a volume of humid air causes it to release a portion of its moisture. That's why there are drains and moisture-collecting pans near or attached to air conditioners, and why air conditioners discharge water when they operate on humid days.

Maintenance Increases Efficiency and Saves Money in Air Conditioning

One of the sounds of summer that homeowners like to hear is that of the air conditioning unit going on and off. The struggle to maintain a cool indoor climate often causes people to just leave the equipment on nonstop. The home stays very cool, but the bills are high. A good air conditioning service program increases the efficiency of the system, making it a valuable weapon in the war against expensive utility bills, as well as the heat.

Refrigerant

The outdoor unit contains the compressor and condenser coils. The compressor pumps refrigerant into the condenser, transforming it from gas to liquid form, expelling heat. The liquid passes through the expansion valve and begins the conversion from liquid to gas and the process is aided as the refrigerant is forced into the evaporator. As liquid evaporates, it absorbs heat and the process keeps the evaporator cool.

Controllers Of VRV

Navigation Wired Remote Controller -

Specifications

Dot Matrix LCD - Clear letters and affluent text indications
Less & Large buttons – For easy operations

Backlight Display – Helps operating in dark rooms

Basic Tips for AC Repair and Maintenance

AC repair is always important, especially in the summer. Nobody wants to think about their air conditioner dying on them during the hottest months of the year, yet sadly that is when it's the most likely to happen. Many people run their air conditioners almost nonstop during the summer, often with little regard for the maintenance that is needed in order to keep everything running smoothly.

As with most complicated appliances, there are several things that can go wrong with an air conditioner that hasn’t been well maintained. A good AC repair company can fix just about any problem, but there are some things that homeowners can do before a technician needs to get involved.

Introduction of HRV

HRV stands for Heat Reclaim Ventilation System. It is Ideal for Offices, Restaurants, Hospitals etc.

Key Features

• Reduces Air conditioning load by approximately by 31%
• Standard operation temperature -15 to 50 CDB.
• Easy installation in ceiling due to low height
• Nighttime free cooling operation
• Interlocking with a/c operation
• HRV System, Heat Reclaim Ventilation System

Air Conditioner Parts

Let's get some housekeeping topics out of the way before we tackle the unique components that make up a standard air conditioner. The biggest job an air conditioner has to do is to cool the indoor air. That's not all it does, though.

How do Air Conditioners Work?

The first modern air conditioning system was developed in 1902 by a young electrical engineer named Willis Haviland Carrier. It was designed to solve a humidity problem at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, N.Y. Paper stock at the plant would sometimes absorb moisture from the warm summer air, making it difficult to apply the layered inking techniques of the time. Carrier treated the air inside the building by blowing it across chilled pipes. The air cooled as it passed across the cold pipes, and since cool air can't carry as much moisture as warm air, the process reduced the humidity in the plant and stabilized the moisture content of the paper. Reducing the humidity also had the side benefit of lowering the air temperature -- and a new technology was born.