Sunday, February 27

Become A Split System Heat Pump Expert - Interview Questions

If you are serious about learning the exciting facts about air conditioner split system heat pumps, then this Q&A interview is going to go into details of what a split system heat pump is, how it compares to an air conditioner and furnace combo, about heat pump cost, and why split unit heat pump systems are so popular nowadays.

By reading the interview below, you could be on your way of saving tremendous amounts of cash each year on your utility bills.

For more information on high efficiency air conditioner systems for home, go here now: ductless air conditioner.

Let's get right into it.

Question: How is a heat pump different from an air conditioner split system?

Answer: That’s a great question and it really does not get answered clearly much. Heat pump is based on an air conditioning split system design, so it acts exactly like the air conditioner unit for the purposes of cooling. For heating in the winter, a special switch on the main unit switches the roles of the evaporator from the inside unit (summer, cooling inside, heating outside) to the outside unit (winter, cooling outside, heating inside).

Question: Where does the term "split system AC" come from?

Answer: Good question. Split system heat pump or split system air conditioner simply means that the evaporator, or the "air handler" unit is physically separated from the compressor unit. There are many advantages to split air conditioner configuration, one being the higher energy efficiency, the other being low noise.

Question: What is the main advantage of split unit heat pumps as compared with the furnaces?

Answer: Consider burning a gallon of oil to heat up the house in the winter. This same amount of energy could be used by the heat pump to transfer two, three, or even five times the heat from the outside of the house to the inside. Heat pumps are simply more energy efficient when it comes to heating a home in the winter time.

Question: Why are heating pumps becoming so popular?

Answer: At this time, the popularity of heat pump systems and mini split heat pumps is likely due to rising energy costs.

Question: Are there any downsides to heat pumps? What kind of maintenance costs are there?

Answer: First off, you will save money in the winter compared to furnaces. Second, due to dual design, there are small inefficiencies when it comes to the AC action in the summer. So, for the same amount of air conditioning, you may pay slightly more with a heat pump than with a dedicated air conditioner, in terms of monthly electricity costs.

Question: Anything else?

Answer: In extremely cold winter climates, depending on the refrigerant properties, and depending on whether you have a geo-thermal or air-air model, heat pumps may become ineffective for heating the home during super cold days. For those few days in the year, an additional furnace install is recommended.

The interview questions were provided by the site 3tonairconditioner.net.

For more tips on picking the right heat pumps and air conditioning services, see AC services.

Heat Pump Air Conditioning Prices And Economics - Comparison With The Regular AC Furnace Combo

If you have been hearing about heat pump air conditioning lately, it is for a very good reason. Split system heat pump is an air conditioner that not only cools the air in the house in the summer, but, by reversing the cooling process, efficiently heats the house up in the winter as well.

The energy prices are coming up slowly but surely, and everyone is concerned with saving money on their utility bills! In this brief article we will go over a few important points shedding light on the difference between a split system heat pump prices and a common air conditioner-furnace combo prices and costs for air conditioning your home. We will look at the price and long term economics of heat pumps and AC units with furnaces.

For more info on heat pump air conditioner advantages and on specific brands and models, see site split system heat pump.


Pricing of heat pumps versus AC + furnace

There is a very small difference between heat pumps and split system air conditioners. It is a switch that transforms an AC unit into a heat pump split system by reversing the role of the indoor and outdoor heat exchangers. So the cost of a heat pump is not much higher than the cost of an AC unit. When you add the cost of the necessary furnace to the cost of the AC unit, you realize that the cost to purchase and install the AC unit and a furnace is higher than that of just installing the heat pump.

Operating efficiency of split system heating and cooling with heat pump versus AC + furnace

Because of the more versatile design of the heat exchanger designs in heat pumps systems (both inside evaporator must act as an evaporator as well as the compressor), the cooling efficiency of heat pumps is slightly lower than that of the AC conditioners. However, the big difference between the heat pump and the AC + furnace system shows up on your bills in the winter.

Since the furnace is simply burning the fuel, such as electricity or gas to produce heat, and the heat pump is using the fuel or electricty to transfer the heat from the outside of the house into the house, the energy efficiency of the heat pump system for heating your home is as much as double to triple that of the furnace. Imagine your heating bill cut in half in the winter. That is what heat pumps systems can do for you.

There is a small caveat to all this. Depending on the type of the heat pump (geothermal or air-air), the heat pump may not be highly efficient in heating your home under extreme outside temperatures, such as temperatures below freezing. Therefore, you may have to be ready with additional sources of heat for those (few?) days that the temperature is lowered to the extremes and the heating pump becomes unable to provide sufficient heating.

You must weight this inconvenience against big savings on heating costs with a split system heat pump throughout the winter.

For more info on best air conditioner types including heat pumps, see the site http://3tonairconditioner.net.

Thursday, February 24

Server Room Air Conditioning - Building Reliable Computer Environment

If you have been assigned a task of building a server room for your online company or even if you are considering dedicating a room just for the computers in your home, then in this article we will talk about the reasons why you need to build in a computer room air conditioner unit, and why it could be advantageous to include a raised floor feature as well.

By following the question and answer session, and testing yourself with the answers, you should have a better idea right away about the necessary equipment for your new server room.

For more info on computer room air conditioner design and on specific room air conditioners brands and models, see computer room air conditioning.

Here are the questions and the answers:

Question: What are the big reasons why computer and server rooms need additional air conditioning?

Answer: That’s a great question to ask. You see, servers have been constantly improving in their computing power and network connectivity. However, with the growth of power, their energy consumption has gone up, too. These days computers and servers are big energy consumers, and whenever you plan to put three or more servers in a room, that can start having an impact on the temperature of the room. On the other hand, computers do not like elevated temperatures, as they can damage the hard drives and the CPU, central processing units. Therefore, you needserver room air conditioners to keep elevated temperature in check.

Question: When you say computers are big energy consumers, what do you have in mind?

Answer: Well to keep it simple, depending on how much peripherals you have attached, and what exactly is the load on the computer, a single server unit could consume 200 Watts of electric power, which does not include a monitor. Imagine three, four, five, or more of those in the same server rack, and you will see that energy consumption can grow quite rapidly. In many homes, computers are now the biggest consumers of electricity.

Question: What is the maximal safe temperature that still allows for normal functioning of a computer, or a hard drive?

Answer: Normal operating temperature of a hard drive is in the 30's to 40's in degrees Celsius. Most hard drives are rated up to 60 degrees Celsius. The CPU under load can reach maximal temperatures of 65 to 90 degrees Celsius.

Question: How can you measure these CPU and hard disk temperatures?

Answer: These days, processors and hard disks are smart devices and can report their own temperatures to the operating system. There are multiple programs which will either display these temperatures on screen, or report them.

Question: What happens if allowed server temperatures are exceeded?

Answer: For both hard drives and CPUs, the first thing you might notice upon overheating is mysterious errors in programs, as well as occassional freezing of the system, or automatic shutoff with some models. If for some reason the CPU temperature exceeds 90-95 degrees Celsius, this can start physically damaging the motherboard. The costs of servers is appreciable, and damage to servers is what you want to avoid by bringing in at least additional portable air conditioners, or in room air conditioner units. And while without the extra computer room cooling the servers will probably avoid damage by shutting themselves down, there is always a problem of lost revenues when your company's website is down.

Question: What is the use of raised floors in server rooms?

Answer: Raised floors play a role because they can efectively house the complex networking cables and equipment, as well as the air ducts for additional portable air conditioners.

Question: What are other advantages of raised floors in server rooms?

Answer: Besides housing the network cables, power cables, and air vents, the raised floor is very flexible and can accomodate movements of computers and portable air conditioners. It makes moving about in the room easy as it gets the cables out of the way.

For more info on best air conditioner types suitable for server rooms, see the site http://3tonairconditioner.net.

Wednesday, February 23

Air Conditioning Prices - Busting The Myths

When you are looking for best possible air conditioning prices that you can get, you are in the right place. The summer is coming again and it is always the best time to use the winter to prepare for the summer, don't you agree. And the longer you wait, the more demand there will be for AC repair and service technicians, and less chance you will have to negotiate lower central air units prices...

We'll bust a number of myths here about air conditioning installation and air conditioning units prices. You should be better prepared to go ahead and get that disfunctional home air conditioner replaced or upgraded sooner, and before the summer heat strikes.

For more information on home AC systems and their important parts, go here now: air conditioner parts.

Here are the myths, busted:

Q: True or False? One can just look into yellow pages and get a quote for a home AC system.

A: False. Each home is different, and insulated differently. A respectable company will schedule a visit before they give you a quote.

Q: True or False? Central air conditioning systems are commonplace. Every shop will give you about the same central air prices quote.

A: False. That is a travesty almost as big as saying - each car repair shop will give you the same quote for your car engine replacement. In reality, different shops work in different ways, and they will provide different services. Therefore, their prices and AC installation quotes will vary wildly. We have seen 50% differences, or $5,000 difference in price for a residential AC system install.

Q: True or False? Yellow pages is the place to look for the best air conditioner contractors and lowest central air prices.

A: False. That may have been true 15 years ago, but today checking online and yellow pages is a must to find companies that will do what you want AND give you a decent price. Do search for HVAC services in yellow pages, but do not forget to search for HVAC prices on Google too.

Q: True or False? There is not much else to do with the AC system after installation.

A: False. In fact, to save money on an ongoing basis it is prudent to think ahead of regular monthly check ups, conservation plans for the winter, and annual maintenance. You might be able to cut a deal on annual maintenance service with the same company that will install your AC unit.

All in all, the more you know, and the more companies you talk too, the easier it will be for you to find a great price AND a fitting cheap air conditioner system that will keep the air in your house cool and clean for a long time to come.

For even more tips on picking the right AC service, see AC services.

Sunday, February 20

Outdoor Air Conditioner Covers: Best Kept Secret Of The AC Industry

Why are exterior AC covers the best kept secret of the AC industry? Probably because there is no incentive to promote an inexpensive product that can save you thousands of dollars on AC maintenance and repair!

Seriously though, in this article we will bust some myths that could prevent you from taking advantage of using outdoor and indoor air conditioner cover and starting to save money right away. Other ways to get low air conditioning prices.

For more info on AC covers, go here now: AC Covers.

Here is the Q&A, True or False questionnaire:

Q: True or False? The air conditioning covers will always improve your home air conditioners energy efficiency, and save you money each year.

A: False. While mostly true, and yes, the right air conditioner cover can save you tons of money. There is, however a possibility that, a cover that doesn't breathe sufficiently, would cause higher humidity in the external AC unit, thus speeding up the corrosion process.

Q: True or False? Outdoor air conditioning covers do not improve the energy efficiency of the central air conditioner.

A: False. When you protect the air conditioning unit in the winter, it will be cleaner and less corroded when you need it in the spring or summer.

Q: True or False? Air conditioning covers do not improve air flow inside the compressor air conditioner unit.

A: False. By reducing the debris accumulted on the fans, and grilles, air conditioning cover will much improve the air flow when you put the AC unit into use.

Q: True or False? Home air conditioner covers can not improve the lifetime of an air conditioner unit.

A: False. In most climates, the corrosion is the biggest factor in determining lifetime of an external AC unit. By reducing humidity, wind and UV light damage, the lifetime of an AC unit is greatly extended.

Q: True or False? AC covers are not worth the money and hassle.

A: False. The estimate of AC covers money savings over the lifetime of the AC unit are a significant fraction of the total cost of the AC unit, which can be thousands of dollars. Even a small fraction of $10,000 is still several hundreds, even thousands of dollars. In addition, you could save hundreds every year on reduced utility bills. Are such savings worth $20-$50 for a decent AC cover? You decide.

Q: True or False? I live in California. We never have snow here. The weather is mostly nice even in winter. I do not need the added protection of an central air conditioner cover.

A: False. You will be surprised to find that even in a desert climate, the effects of the wind, sand, and UV rays can be devastating. And while there may not be extreme variations in temperature, or freezing, the debris and UV rays effects can still be significantly reduced by using a protective air conditioning cover.

For more specific information on AC covers, AC filters, and other AC supplies, check out air conditioner supplies.

Top 10 Facts About The Reality Of Central AC Prices That You Probably Didn’t Know

With summer approaching rapidly, and having endured last summer's extreme heat and humidity, much of the country has sworn that they will fix, upgrade, or replace their central AC systems. After being left in the sweltering heat and terrible humidity, many homeowners decided that they will do upgrade or replace their inefficient and failing AC systems. Homeowners are looking for best central AC prices they can get. Thinking ahead about the winter heating, they are looking to save money on HVAC prices too, or Heating, Ventillation, and Air Conditioning prices.

Also, homeowners nationwide decided they will do everything in their power to keep their cooling and heating costs down to the minimum - it is no fun to be hit by a multi-hundred dollar electricity bill each month in the summer!

Check out these top 10 facts to find out how you can minimize your expenditure and ongoing costs by upgrading and getting the best central AC prices possible.

Go to http://3tonairconditioner.net right now for even more information.

Here are the top 10 facts about getting best AC unit prices:

1. First and foremost, know what AC system you currently have. What types of problems did you experience with it recently? What about heating systems? Do you want a new furnace or would you prefer to look into the heat pump prices instead?

2. Before looking into the details of a new AC unit prices, check what is the power (in tons or BTU) and efficiency (in SEER) of your current AC system.

3. Also, figure out whether the insulation of your home has been improved. Together with the higher efficiency of modern air conditioners, and better insulations, you could get a lower BTU rating central AC unit, start off with a lower HVAC cost, and your monthly savings could be substantial on top of that.

4. If your system is over 10-15 years old, you can rest assured that the SEER rating, or the energy efficiency of a typical central AC unit has doubled in the meantime.

5. Before inquiring about the central air conditioning prices and the prices for home AC installation, ask yourself if you really need the whole house cooled at all times. A "zoned" solution may save you money every month.

6. These days, you can find central AC contractors both in the yellow pages, and online. Make a list and get ready to interview them.

7. During the initial phone calls, be sure to get your questions answered but also be prepared to provide basic information about your needs and what you want done.

8. Before you get a quote, be sure to check out prices of central AC units online as well, for comparison purposes. Ask how many man-hours are included in the quote.

9. A contractor giving you an air conditioner cost quote over the phone is a red flag. Be sure to schedule a home inspection first before getting a customized quote.

10. During the inspection, the quality contractor will inquire about related issues as well, such as any problems with either heating or cooling equipment you may have had, and whether you have any concerns with the general air quality of your home.

These are just the basic questions you need to be aware of to be able to get the best deal and ultimately the best central air conditioners prices.

For more information on home AC systems, check out the site on residential air conditioning.