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Tag: A/C

Trane XR16 Low-Profile Air Conditioner Now Available

Trane XR16 Low-Profile Air Conditioner, Low ProfileTrane Low Profile Air Conditioning In The News: Trane XR16 May 2017 News Brief

Do you ever wonder what keeps the Trane HVAC division in the forefront of air conditioning technology? The answers come in a flood of terminology:

  • HVAC Innovation
  • Attention to A/C concepts and detail
  • Focus on air conditioner design and efficiency
  • Isolating of specific HVAC purposes and functionality
  • AND… A dedication to quality A/C customer focus.

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Heat Pump Efficiency – Your Solution For Summer and Winter Comfort

Mesa Air Conditioning At ACHBenefits of an Installed Heat Pump System

During warm weather, heat pumps and air conditioners function identically. Both HVAC approaches are designed to provide homes and businesses with the physical comfort of reliable cooling and dehumidification. The typical A/C or HP system uses a process defined as vapor compression cycling. In general, refrigerant materials are noted for the temperature increase that takes place when the materials are compressed and then rapidly expanded. Thus a cycle of circulating refrigerant material through a compression / expansion process results in mechanically generated cool air.

Whether in homes or businesses, the process remains the same. The condensing unit of the air conditioning system houses the compressor and is typically stored external to the home or office. This is the noisy maker, the energy consumer, and the home of the condensing coil.

However, when the weather changes and you need something that provides heat as well as cooling comforts, heat pump efficiency suddenly takes a valuable leap above the capacity of a standard air conditioner. It’s a reversal of processes. Whereas an A/C condensing unit is capable only of functioning as a cooling system, a heat pump can reverse the process so that the heat of compression rather than venting into the outside air ends up within your home or office living and working quarters.

Layman’s Definition of Installed Heat Pump Functionality

So, you ask. Define heat pump efficiency in simple terms. Herein are the basics:

  • Heat pumps move heat from one fluid to another
  • In an air-source HVAC system, air is the fluid within the home and the external fluid is the outside air source.
  • In a geothermal heat system, water is the external fluid source
  • In times of hot external temperatures, the heat pump moves inside air into the outside fluid
  • In times of cold external temperatures, the heat within the outside fluid is moved to the inside air system.

Sophisticated Definition of Installed Heat Pump Functionality

Tip: Expect a 15-year lifecycle on the typical air-source HVAC heat pump. Furnaces usually pull 20-years. The actual processing method of a HP is as follows:

  1. The external compressor unit pressurizes the system refrigerant
  2. The pressurized refrigerant is piped inside the home
  3. As the inside condensing coil receives the heated gas, room air passes over the coil and heat is transferred into the passing air.
  4. During the process of heat exchange, the refrigerant cools and condenses
  5. Now pressurized as a liquid, the refrigerant passes through a throttling valve, which causes expansion, cooling, and a shift into a state of low pressure liquid
  6. In the cooling process, the external evaporator coil uses external air to boil the cold liquid refrigerant back into a gas
  7. In the event that the external air is too cold to enable adequate heat generation, supplemental electric heat strips within the air handler provide the home with reliable heat.

During winter months, ice sometimes forms on the external coil system. The heat pump then engages a periodic defrost cycle which enables the system to melt ice and resume normal operation.

All AC Brands In AZAir-Source HVAC Heat Pump Efficiency

Every form of measurement needs a base line. Thus horsepower as well as watts and amperage define engine performance. Likewise, heat pumps also require a base line measuring gauge. We call it the Heating Season Performance Factor (HSPF). The gauging is based upon comparing the ratio of heat provided in Btu per hour to watts of energy consumed. The HSPF process also factors components such as:

  • Energy loss during the systems defrost cycle
  • Energy loss during system startup
  • Energy loss during system stops
  • And modifications due to specific climates.

Typical HSPF standards range from 7.7 for minimum efficiency equip to 8.2 for high efficiency units. Variable speed air-source HVAC systems may rate as high as 9.0. Actual efficiency performance varies from climate to climate.

When performing air-cooling services, heat pump efficiency performance is measured and rated by the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). Again: the calculations factor in concepts such as start, stop and specific climate. Current national mandates set minimum residential air conditioning SEER rates at 13.0. However some units actually exceed a 19.0 SEER rating. And again, variable speed systems typically out perform standard units.

Expect to spend around 30% more for a variable speed HP or variable speed A/C. However, expect benefits as follows:

  • Better energy efficiency
  • Quieter operation
  • Better dehumidifying functions
  • AND better home comfort.

For more details on how to fit your Arizona home with a quality installed heat pump efficiency system, contact American Cooling and Heating now.

 

Commercial Cooling, Arizona Climate Friendly Refrigeration

CRAC Resource PortalThe Increasing Cost Of Arizona Commercial Cooling Requirements

It seems every year that Arizona temperatures increase and the cost of commercial cooling shoots higher and higher. With the coming of each new summer season, the demand for climate friendly refrigeration elevates and the environmentally mindful sweat even more. But for Arizona business owners and operators, the cost of staying in business seems often to outweigh the price of environmental climate issues.

For many local business owners, cost-saving options are shrinking rather than increasing. To deliver an expected service or product in the face of raging Arizona heat waves, these owners and managers must run powerful commercial cooling units – A/C systems designed to keep large buildings comfortable and to ensure that information management components can function consistently and reliably day after steamy hot day.

For those of us trying to keep an ear out for better alternatives on Arizona climate friendly refrigeration solutions, relief may yet be on the horizon. Trane, one of the most reliable modern HVACR manufacturing and development firms, has revealed a newer, better, and more climate-friendly refrigerant. Announced at a recent company conference, DR-55 is slated for availability within the next year for commercial usage and a bit more after that for residential.

Cooler Breezes for Commercial Cooling

The new refrigerant dubbed the Trane AquaTrine is geared specifically for commercial businesses and hotels. Billed as the next generation of coolant, Trane AquaTrine promises to provide improved efficiency and stability to the HVAC industry. This is good news for every business that is looking to save some money while also delivering a greener footprint to the Earth. For most consumers making a business effort to reduce their company impact on local and world climate change, AquaTrine may be the new and great solution to an extremely difficult task.

Arizona Climate Friendly Refrigeration SolutionsResearch and testing conducted by engineers at UC Davis has shown that the DR-55 refrigerant performs 10 percent better overall in outdoor air conditioning. It also promises up to a 70 percent reduction in emissions for the environment. Comparisons are based upon the performance of R-410A, the current standard found in over half of U.S. commercial buildings. And because the new DR-55 occupies the exact same space as the older units, the transition is seamless and will not require any special work or fees.

Committed to the Environment and Arizona Businesses

Modern Trane progress in commercial cooling is no accident. This company continually challenges themselves, their employees, and their customers to make energy efficiency and environmental impact a moving goalpost. The aim: Continually hit new milestones every decade. Example: By the year 2020, Trane hopes to offer future businesses and residents an air conditioning product that can reduce emissions by up to 35 percent reduction of current measurements. Furthermore, the company plans to reduce their necessary product and operations by up to 50 percent, and this in the same time frame. Right now, even as you read, Trane is spending hundreds of millions on research and development. They do not intend to meet the year 2020 without fulfilling these remarkable milestones of growth, performance, and changes in climate friendly refrigeration.

Many Arizona commercial business owners speak of customers with a more inquisitive concern for “green operations.” Wise operators cannot longer easily ignore such consumer concerns, especially with the word-of-mouth information age so quickly spreading current news.

Long-term commitments translate into long-term savings, ultimately. Having a sticker that says “highest rated energy efficient and environmentally-friendly cooling” on your window is like adding on a bonus star to any hotel or restaurant, for your average small business owner. It attracts the best kind of attention, which is also telling your customer: “We care.”

For more information on Arizona commercial cooling and new technology in Arizona climate friendly refrigeration, contact American Cooling and Heating now.

 

 

Air Conditioning Efficiency – No Less Efficient Than Other Forms of Technology

Air Conditioning Efficiency Compared To Other Forms of Energy Hungry Technology

They keep asking the question: How can we improve air conditioning efficiency? Yet one must really wonder if these wonder appliances designed to improve the human lifestyle are actually any less efficient than other forms of current technology.

To answer that, let’s take a look at recent reports posted in the pages of Scientific American. Accordingly, the United States expends more energy on heating and cooling than most any nation worldwide, averaging roughly 185 billion kilowatt-hours yearly (1). And it’s not all due to changes evoked by global warming or even by the current 20-percent growth rate of worldwide sales in air conditioning equipment. Face it: We live in an age when both businesses and homes expect year-around comfort. It means employees work more efficiently. Families rest more fully. In fact, throughout the industry of factories and care centers, HVAC equipment is often used to improve resident and worker safety concerns.

Yet to reap the benefits of modern air conditioning efficiency, we burn more fossil fuels than ever before in the history of man. Sometimes the HVAC is used for heat and sometimes the A/C is for cooling. We do so with the full knowledge that air conditioning bears with it a long-term price in energy consumption. However, according to the 2013 deputy director of ARPA-E, air-conditioning is “inherently inefficient.”

But what does this mean, this term “inherently inefficient?” By what comparison is the statement driven?

According to the deputy director, “It’s (air conditioning) everywhere and it’s (HVACR equipment) a huge energy sink.”

The imposed impression tends to define A/C equipment as though some great villain is loosed among us. But what is the measuring stick? Is it a comparison of comfort-to-cost versus necessity-to-cost? Or is the comparison merely applying performance and function to cost for usage? Furthermore unless the efficiency measurements that define the distinction between necessity and comfort meet criteria that are suitable to the homeowner or the business in question such measures are without value.

Average Energy Consumption For A Home Air Conditioning System

According to a recent article in Forbes, your home’s central heating furnace in off or standby mode uses roughly half as much energy per year as does a notebook computer in off or standby mode (2). That’s 300 Watts versus 600 Watts. Consider some typically monthly kWh usage in home appliances items functional under normal use cycles*: 

  • Refrigerator                                        … 30-200 kWh/month
  • Dehumidifier                                     … 80-160 kWh/month
  • Water Heater                                     … Averages 400 kWh/month
  • 2.5 HP Swimming Pool Pump       … 350-450 kWh/month
  • Central Air                                         … 300-900 kWh/month
  • Heat Pump                                         … 600-1,800 kWh/month (heating and cooling.)

Most appliances do not run 24/7. However, items such as hair dryers, curling irons, and vacuum cleaners typically consume more energy per hour of usage than do modern refrigerators. Energy consumption must be measured in balance with the service performed. Without defining a scale for cost-versus-achieved-benefit, it seems senseless to isolate any single technology as though that technology is less efficient than some other form of technology. After all, in spite of government efforts to regulate and force improved transportation-related efficiency, automobiles can readily be defined as an unnecessary comfort that is in many ways “inherently inefficient.”

New Heating and Cooling Technologies and the Primary Focus Of Use

Clearly current technology in air conditioning efficiency has not reached maximum capacity. Conventional systems continue to use refrigerants in the core cooling process. For cooling, heat is absorbed and then expelled into the outside world. For heating with a heat pump, the process is reversed. And in either event, the HVAC process demands use of electrically powered compressors, fans and pump systems. Efficient air conditioning doesn’t necessary mean that consumers will receive a create decrease in the cost of operation. To rightly measure this process, we must always balance cost to effectiveness.

One new concept in heating and cooling involves replacing the typical super-powered fluids and gases with some form of solid material. By using materials such as bismuth telluride and other applicable solids as a means of absorbing heat, both refrigerators and other air conditioning equipment can be manufactured without use of so many moving components. This not only reduces the electrical demands, but it also reduces the possibilities of equipment breakdown.

One strange point mentioned during many of the discussions concerning new cooling technology always seems to involve not so much the concept of cost as it does the concept of “necessity.” And it seems often to be a “necessity” that is also directly linked to comfort. Certainly the greater measure of HVACR research seems focused on life-saving applications wherein refrigeration of medical supplies, food and more come to the surface as the front-runners. However there is also much concern about providing efficient dehumidifiers and air conditioning for American military personal stationed in extreme overseas hotspots. And lastly, but not necessary least important is the question of how the U.S. as a nation and how the world as a whole is going to efficiently adapt to a future of increasingly extreme heat waves?

Whether addressed as a “comfort” item or as a “necessity” item, we need air conditioning efficiency that includes cost-effective pricing, long-term energy efficiency, and effective performance. If air conditioning equipment is as declared by the 2013 deputy director of ARPA-E “inherently inefficient”, so too are our cars, buses and hot water heaters. HVAC technology is no less efficient than many other forms of modern technology. As to purpose performed versus the cost, for me A/C rates among the most valuable current pieces of home improvement equipment. For a free estimate on Arizona installation of efficient Air Conditioning products, contact American Cooling and Heating today.

 

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are intended to provoke discussion. They reflect the thoughts and concerns of the author, and do establish any particular standing by American Cooling and Heating as an Arizona HVAC installation and service center.

 

Note: * kWh based upon national average 

  1. 1)      http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/technology-improvements-save-energy-and-lives-with-air-conditioning
  2. 2)      http://www.forbes.com/sites/williampentland/2011/09/03/top-26-home-energy-hogs-turned-off

Arizona Air Filtration, The Importance of Indoor Air Quality

Arizona Air FiltrationCan Installing Arizona Air Filtration Devices Improve Your Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

Recent reports evidence the benefits Arizona Air Filtration has on the effect of Phoenix indoor air quality. According to the Arizona Radiation Regulatory Agency, area homeowners don’t have to risk the IAQ dangers associated with radon. The report “Radon Doesn’t Have To Be A Problem,” identifies clear health benefits linked to Arizona air filtration. According to the Radiation Regulatory Agency, radon IAQ problems can be reduced by any of three differing methods:

  • Use an air filtration device to capture, filter and re-inject the ducted supply lines of central forced air heating and A/C systems
  • Install a stand-alone central Arizona air filtration system on homes that lack central A/C and central heating
  • Install console HEPA filter systems in Phoenix regional homes that lack space for forced air duct systems.

Controlling the problem by use of air filtration devices is dependent upon the existing type of heating and cooling system – or the lack thereof of any central HVAC units. The Arizona-based Regulatory Agency goes on to advise homeowners concerning current radon management systems versus new technology systems. Many regional homes may us active soil depressurization systems, yet the Agency suggests that applying one of the three air filtration solutions can not only control radon but also reduce the effects of allergies and asthma. If your radon levels are relatively low, the Agency says you might be better off considering new indoor air control technology.

Furthermore, the Agency offers the following primary instructions for correct application and assured performance:

  • HEPA Connections – Hire a qualified Arizona HVAC mechanical contractor for the installation. If possible, your indoor air quality system should connect to your existing air conditioning or furnace duct-work.
  • Testing – Ensure that your air filtration system effectively manages the radon decay level in your home.

Understand that radon is not reduced, but rather the harmful radon decay products are reduced. Understand also that Arizona air filtration is only effectively appropriate for radon levels from 4 to 8 pCi/L.

 

Radon Only One Danger Managed By Effective Arizona Air Filtration

State indoor radon sampling indicates that Arizona homes may slightly exceed the EPA recommended action level for radon concentrations. But this is a rate that hangs near to the national average.

The good news: Temperatures is Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and other Arizona regions tend to help reduce the amount of radon that is drawn into a home. The bad news: Arizona sub floor forced air conditioning systems often use return air ducts that run on the soil below slab floors. This results in overall poorer indoor air quality. Here are some steps you can take to immediately reduce the problem:

  • When weather permits, ventilate your home
  • Open some windows
  • Open doors and use freestanding fans to force exterior air to pass through your home
  • Contact American Cooling and Heating for immediate installation of Trane Clean Effects Whole Home Filtration.

But remember: Indoor air quality is not just about radon. According to the U.S. EPA, indoor air pollutants fall into two categories: 1) Particulate matter such as animal dander, dust, molds, pollen and smoke 2) Gaseous pollutants such as arises from adhesives, cleaning products, gas cooking, pesticides and varnish.

Clean air systems can remove many indoor air contaminates. Air filtration devices function on the order of particle removers, gaseous pollutant removers and pollutant destruction devices. American Cooling and Heating is licensed, bonded and insured to handle your Arizona air conditioning and indoor air quality problems. We can install, repair or inspect your existing HVAC equipment.

For help in deciding which indoor air filtration device, click here, is best for your Arizona home contact American Cooling and Heating today.

 

 

 

 

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