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Air Conditioning 101

March 23, 2011 by HVAC Expert

What exactly is an air conditioning unit? Most all of us in modern society have experienced the benefits and comfort of conditioned air either at home, work, the mall or Movie Theater. Chances are you’ve been exposed to mechanical Air Conditioning of some sort. Do we ever stop to think about or appreciate the principles and physics behind this miraculous invention? The answer for most all of us is of course not. Like so many other niceties and conveniences that we all take for granted these days being comfortable is standard not optional.

Definition

The American Society of Heating and Refrigeration Engineers (ASHRAE), defines Air Conditioning as: “The process of treating air so as to control simultaneously its temperature, humidity, cleanliness and distribution to meet the requirements of the conditioned space. That says it all. So whether we’re adding heat in the winter or removing heat in the summer we are air conditioning.

So what exactly makes that air cold?

Cold airTo answer that you must first understand that cold is lack of heat. In other words cold air is the result of having the heat removed from it. Absolute zero is -460 degrees Fahrenheit, any temperature above that can be classified as having heat. For now, we won’t go into atoms, molecules and the laws of thermodynamics but to truly understand air conditioning you must go there. When a home or building is Air Conditioned or cooled the heat inside is merely transferred or removed to a more desirable location such as outside. Heat is merely transferred it cannot be destroyed.

Heat remover?

A more suitable name for an air conditioner may be heat mover or heat remover. Sounds strange but by design that’s what an air conditioner does. It moves heat from one place to another. Example: From inside your home, to the world outside. Another simple example would be your refrigerator. It does not destroy the heat to make the inside of the refrigerator cold. The heat is just removed from the refrigerated space and released outside or actually into your home. If you’ve ever felt the heat coming out from the back or bottom front of your fridge you’re feeling the heat being removed from inside the box. Isn’t that just great, now your air conditioner has more heat to remove?

Summary:

The process of cooling your home in the summer does not involve creating cold air but instead removing or moving the heat from inside your home and releasing it outside. The means by which this is accomplished involves transferring the heat with the use refrigerants such as R-22 commonly referred to as Freon or R-410A sometimes referred to as Puron. Actually it’s a little more complicated than that but we’ll happily be drilling down deeper into the physics and principles of Air Conditioning and Refrigeration in future articles. So stay tuned and stay cool!

Filed Under: Commercial, Cooling, Residential Tagged With: Air conditioning, air conditioning 101, tag4, tag5, what makes air cold

Air Conditioning Filters

March 23, 2011 by HVAC Expert

Whether you call them air conditioning filters or furnace filters depends if you live in a predominantly cooling or heating environment.

A Tough Job

Indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental health risks. Air filters have to strike a delicate balance between allowing air to flow freely through your furnace, evaporator coil and ductwork while at the same time stopping all the unwanted particles in the air from being collected on your cooling coil and recirculated throughout your home.

The Terrible Two’s

Basically there are two categories of indoor air pollutants:

The first is Particulate Matter which encompasses dust, smoke, pollen, animal dander, cigarette smoke, particles from combustion appliances, particles associated with tiny organisms such as dust mites, viruses, bacteria and mold.

The second is Gaseous Pollutants. Generally coming from combustion processes. These include gas stoves, car exhaust, and tobacco smoke. They are also generated from building materials and furniture. Paints, glues, pesticides and cleaning supplies are also willing contributors to this category.

Believe it or not your air filter actually becomes more efficient as it becomes loaded up with solid particulate matter. There is however a fine line between a filter operating at peak efficiency and one so stopped up it’s creating a pressure drop through the system, which is never a good thing. It’s important to note that the EPA does not certify or recommend any brand or type of air filter over another. Also note some filters sold in the market place are Energy Star qualified. However EPA does not endorse any manufacturer claims of cleaner indoor air as a result of use of these filters.

Who’s MERV?

Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value or MERV for short is a measurement scale designed in 1987 by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE ) to rate the effectiveness of filters. Ratings are from 1 to 20 with 1 being next to nothing and 20 a cleanroom type application.

Four Types of Filters:

1. Standard one inch fiberglass. Sometimes called a grocery store filters. They are better than nothing and that’s all that can be said. Change monthly.

2. Pleated one or two inch thick. These are sold in numerous efficiencies and sizes. They can be too restrictive for some systems especially those with marginally sized equipment and ductwork. A telltale sign would be a whistling noise from your furnace. Change every one to three months

3. High efficiency media air cleaner: Sold by manufacturers like Lennox and Trane as well as aftermarket HVAC suppliers such as Honeywell and Aprilaire. They are 4-7 inches thick, last six to twelve months and range in efficiency from MERV 8-16. Requires special filter cabinet due to size.

4. The latest and greatest filter systems are classified as Air Purification systems. Again two of the best are made by Lennox and Trane. The Pure Air by Lennox claims it can help control everything from microscopic dust mites and mold spores to infectious bacteria and viruses. They also claim to have the only IAQ system that safely removes and destroys odors and chemical vapors. It uses a patented photo catalytic technology to filter, purify and freshen the air. Service is done once a year with the purchase of an annual maintenance kit. I’ve performed the maintenance on several and it’s a breeze.

Picture courtesy of Google Images.

Filed Under: Cooling, Heating, Residential, Residential Tagged With: tag5, tag6

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