Air Conditioning – How Your Home Is Cooled And Heated

Let’s clear up some terminology before I go into further detail about how an air conditioning system functions. Cooling is only one aspect of air conditioning. It completely regulates air circulation, temperature, humidity, and cleanliness. This implies that in addition to many other crucial tasks that regulate the air around you, air conditioning includes heating, cooling, and dehumidification. Now, you might wonder why most service businesses employ the term Air Conditioning and Heating; even though it is redundant, the aforementioned definition is not well-known to the general public, and they need to promote themselves effectively! However, going forward, I will just refer to air conditioning as cooling (in a moment, we will discover why this might be a worse term to utilize!).

 

How then, does your home stay cool throughout those scorching long summers? It does not, is the response. It just gets less hot and, assuming your system was appropriately sized when it was installed, dehumidified to a level of comfort. According to the rules of thermodynamics, heat is present in the air at all temperatures. There are just various degrees of heat; there isn’t any “cold” (technically). The objective of a home cooling system is to get rid of enough heat from the interior air of your home or workplace to achieve the temperature where people seem to be more comfortable, which is 70 degrees.

 

Heat transfers are all that takes place when your cooling system is turned on. Heat typically moves from a hot object to a colder one; therefore, the heated inside air is moved to the cooler surface before using another heat transfer to move to the outside air. The evaporator, which is located inside the air handler, is the cooler surface in this case that takes the heat from your home. The condenser, an outside unit, is where the other heat transfer takes place. Normally, the heat from your home is lost to the atmosphere outside, though occasionally it is transferred via water. As a result, using a desuperheater to create domestic hot water is also an option.

 

There must be enough air movement in the home for the heat transfers to take place. A sizeable blower located inside the air handler, moves the air. The blower draws air into the air handler from one side, the return side, and then releases it from the supply side. As cold air sinks and hot air rises, a well-constructed system will account for this fact, making optimal grill location crucial.

 

Each system is made in such a way that it is able to manage a specific quantity of airflow and a specific level of cooling or heat energy absorption. If one of these factors is hindered, the system will not function well or possibly at all. This is the reason why routine maintenance is very important. Filters that are dirty can significantly reduce the amount of air passing over the evaporator and greatly increase the likelihood of a frozen coil and an inefficient level of output from your AC.

 

Certain cooling units can also function as heaters. These are referred to as heat pumps. In the winter, heat transmission is used exactly the same way. The only distinction is that the entire mechanism operates in reverse (but not the air movement). Just like cooling a home, heating a home depends on heat transfers. In the event that your home has a heat pump, the condensing really takes place in the air handler while the evaporator now serves as the exterior unit during the winter. The outside air is what supplies the heat in the system. Considering how cold it is in the middle of winter when the air temperature is 40 degrees, that may sound contradictory, but keep in mind that heat is present in the air at all temperatures. Even though it may seem cold outside, there is sufficient heat in the outdoor air for your unit to warm you up inside.

Why You Need A Great HVAC Expert

The weather is pretty hot these days, and you are considering buying another conditioner, right? Maybe your current A/C is no longer giving you what you need. Well, if you have a central air conditioning system, it is probably time to upgrade or address the problems with the current system.

 

Here’s how to tell:

 

Your current fan may be ineffective.

If the current air conditioner is more than ten years old, you should consider replacing it with a newer model. The reason is that older A/Cs usually mean higher energy bills for you. The newer models are more energy-efficient, so you should think about this.

 

If your air conditioning system needs frequent repairs, it can be  a bad sign. It may already be on its last legs or may not be suited to your home. The right move is to get your HVAC expert to take a good look at the system to get the right solution.

 

If your cooling bills continue to rise, it can only mean one thing. Your system may be working inefficiently. Investing in a new air conditioner is a smart move because some of the cost you incur in buying the new A/C can be offset by the lower energy bills.

 

If some of the rooms in your house are too hot or too cold, it probably means your HVAC system may be malfunctioning. It is also possible that your HVAC system is not functioning properly. Another thing you should investigate is inadequate insulation or problems with your ducts.

 

If there are problems with humidity, the most likely culprit is defective air conditioning equipment. It could also be a result of leaky ductwork. In this case, you should call in an expert to take a look at your cooling system and solve the problem for you.

 

If you notice plenty of noise coming from your A/C, there may be a problem with the indoor coil. It is also possible that the duct system is too small. Your HVAC specialist will assess the situation and recommend the perfect solution.

 

In case you are faced with any of these scenarios, your local expert will assess the problem and give you a permanent solution.

 

A bigger system is not always better.

If you are considering buying an air conditioner, the most important thing is size. Many people have the impression that bigger is always better, but this is not true. If you buy an air conditioning system that is too big, it will not be effective at dehumidifying, and this means your room will always feel hot. In addition, oversized cooling units cycle off and on more than they should. This means they break down more often and cost more money to maintain. They also tend to wear out much faster, and this is not what you need.

 

On the other hand, if your cooling system is too small, it will not cool your house properly. In fact, if the air conditioner is too small, it will use excess electricity, run loudly, and may even freeze over on warm days when you need it most.

 

Get a professional to assess your system requirements.

A professional is trained to investigate, troubleshoot, discover problems and come up with the right solutions. Actually, there are many factors to consider at this stage, and this is why you need to sound out more than one expert before settling for the one that ticks all the right boxes. Things like the position of your windows and the effect of trees on your home are factors that the installer should consider.  For those in need of work on their air conditioning, Galveston has numerous options for contractors to help you with whatever you need.

 

The first thing is to find out the proper size of the air conditioning unit your house needs. Once you have this, you can go ahead and compare prices, look at different models and even check out the energy efficiency of different products.

 

Go for SEER 13 or above

The abbreviation SEER simply stands for quality. The higher the SEER value, the more energy-efficient the system is. At the time of writing this article, the lowest SEER allowed by law is 13. However, after a while, even this will be off the market. It is best you buy an air conditioner with a rating of at least 14.5. This will give you both high performance and safety features. It is always better to buy current models because, with these newer models, you are practically guaranteed top quality and efficiency.

 

Energy Star means energy-efficient

To ensure you get the right product, you should buy one with the Energy Star label on it. Products with this label are guaranteed to save you money in the sense that less energy consumption means lower energy bills. Do not buy a cheap and inefficient A/C. Invest in the right air conditioner, and you will enjoy using it for many years.