Posts Tagged ‘Air Conditioning’

« Older Entries

HVAC Services for High-Rise Condos in Toronto

Monday, October 29th, 2012

When considering the HVAC system for a high-rise condominium, there are huge differences between that and a residential system. The expertise gained from residential heating and air conditioning work doesn’t translate well to commercial HVAC systems. In this blog post, we’re going to explore some of the differences between residential heating and air conditioning systems and commercial HVAC systems.

Centralized Systems

For structures with 5-7+ floors, centralized HVAC systems are a popular choice. These units provide heating and cooling from one centralized mechanical area. They are typically very complex to install, operate and maintain because they have to provide heating and cooling to each separate zone or office. One big drawback to these systems is that individual power consumption cannot be accurately measured.

  • A popular centralized system is a four-pipe vertical stacked fan coil system. In this system, hot and cold water are run to each unit through 2 pairs of pipes: one pair for hot and the other pair for cold water. With this system, residents experience the most comfort because they can switch from heating to cooling easily and quickly. This is especially convenient for transitional seasons.
  • A water source heat pump is probably the most popular system for a high-rise building because it provides flexibility and features a lower initial investment than a four-pipe system. This system uses only two pipes to circulate condenser water to heat pumps in each unit. For cooling, each unit has its own compressor and a remote cooling tower is used for heat exhaustion.

Decentralized System

This is the commercial equivalent of a window unit or a ductless mini split system in that each unit in the complex has their own heating and cooling system. These are normally installed in smaller buildings with 6 or less floors. One great advantage of these systems is that exact power usage can be obtained from the unit and billed to the resident. However, because each resident or office has their own unit, calls for service can be frequent. Additionally, these systems can potentially have a shorter life span.

You want a company that has the expertise to work with complex commercial HVAC equipment. At Advantage Airtech Heating & Air Conditioning, we have years of experience installing, repairing and maintaining commercial HVAC systems in Toronto. We would love to talk with you about your project and how we can help.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Heating | Comments Off

Your Newcastle HVAC System and Electricity

Monday, August 20th, 2012

While not every HVAC system in your Newcastle home requires electricity, many of them do. Your air conditioner, furnace or water heater and ventilation system all need access to the central power line. So what does that mean for your system and what problems should be you beware of?

How Your HVAC System Uses Electricity

How your HVAC system works depends largely on which components need electricity to operate. Here is a quick summary of how each system uses electricity:

  • Air Conditioning – Most air conditioners are electric and therefore use electricity based on the number of BTUs produced. For example, if your air conditioner produces 25,000 BTUs and has a SEER of 16, it can produce 16 BTUs for every watt of electricity consumed per hour. As a result, it consumes 1,562.5 watts per hour when the system is running at maximum capacity. If it runs at full capacity for 8 hours per day, 30 days a month in the summer, that’s 375 kilowatt hours – which is the measurement unit you’ll see on your electric bill.
  • Ventilation – Your ventilation system is almost always going to use electricity to circulate and filter air. While mechanical filters rely on the movement of air to remove certain particles, ventilation systems have a variety of components including fans and possibly even condenser coils to conserve energy as air is exchanged between the inside and outside.

Electricity plays an important role in your Newcastle HVAC system no matter how your system works. To ensure yours continues to operate as intended, have your power system checked on a regular basis when the rest of your HVAC system is serviced. To schedule your annual tune-up today, give Advantage Airtech a call!

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning, Heating | Comments Off

Uxbridge Air Conditioning Question: Who Invented Air Conditioning?

Monday, August 13th, 2012

For hundreds of years, people have been trying to figure out how to stay cool in the heat of the summer. But it wasn’t until 1902 that the first modern air conditioner was put into service in Brooklyn, NY. Since then, many adjustments and improvements have been made to make air conditioning available and convenient for people to use in their Uxbridge homes and cars. But through it all, the basic principles used in that first air conditioner have remained constant.

The Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company

The heat and humidity in New York in the summer isn’t something to be taken lightly, but it posed particular problems for the owner of the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company. The conditions inside his facility were such that the paper used was warping and the dimensions fluctuating, causing the printing to constantly come out misaligned.

To try and solve this problem, he hired the Buffalo Forge Company, which itself had just hired Willis Haviland Carrier, a recent recipient of a Master’s Degree in Engineering from Cornell University. Carrier approached this problem by trying to find a way to cool air by passing it over cold coils in the same way air was heated in those days by passing it over hot coils.

As it turned out, this process worked to reduce both the temperature and the humidity in the area and Carrier’s first air conditioner began running at Sackett-Wilhelms in July of 1902.

The Next Steps

As the potential for this new technology became more and more apparent, demand for Carrier’s device grew in all sectors of the economy. Employers were delighted by the way air conditioners increased the productivity of their workers during the hottest months of the year, and in order to keep up with demand, Carrier eventually founded the Carrier Air Conditioning Company which still exists today.

The coolants used in the earliest air conditioners were generally either highly flammable or toxic, and often both. In order to make air conditioning safer and easier to use, a safer coolant needed to be introduced, which was what drove Thomas Midgley, Jr. to develop Freon in 1928. Freon was initially made up of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), but as the disastrous environmental impacts of those chemicals became apparent, usage shifted first to hydrogenated chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and then to the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) that are predominantly used today.

For more information about air conditioning or if your Uxbridge AC needs service, call Advantage Airtech Ltd. today!

Tags: ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

Uxbridge Air Conditioning Guide: Save Money in the Long Haul with AC Maintenance

Monday, August 6th, 2012

Every year, it’s recommended that you have an Uxbridge HVAC contractor visit your home and tune up your air conditioner. This visit will ensure the system is ready for the intense, regular use it will receive during the hottest months of the year. How much money can this visit save you, though? Let’s take a closer look.

Cost of Operating Your Air Conditioning

When a system has dirty filters, hasn’t been cleaned properly or the thermostat is no longer calibrated accurately, the cost increases – sometimes dramatically.

Just how much more could you be spending on cooling each month when this happens? The EPA’s Energy Star website estimates an increase in cost of between 10-30% resulting from poorly maintained systems, and it can be even higher if your system is old and is severely affected by a drop in energy efficiency.

Annual Tune Up Necessities

So, what should be at the top of your tune up list? If you call a contractor, they will perform a variety of tasks including:

  • Inspect Coolant and Pressure Systems
  • Calibrate the Thermostat
  • Tighten Wiring, Capacitors, Relays and Contacts
  • Clean the Evaporator Coil
  • Clear and Clean the Condenser and Condensate Drain
  • Inspect the Condenser Fan and Motor
  • Check Compressor Efficiency

This is just a starter list for standard tune up of a central air conditioning unit. You can supplement this tune up by checking your filters once every 30 days and clearing away debris from around any outdoor units. You should also check your thermostat monthly to ensure it is working properly. If not, call for an inspection to avoid heavy increases in operating costs.

Major repairs to your Uxbridge air conditioning system generally take less than a day and when you’re on an annual maintenance plan, they cost significantly less than if you needed someone to fix the device in an emergency situation.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

Newcastle Air Conditioning Guide: The Ins and Outs of Ductless Splits Air Conditioning

Monday, July 30th, 2012

So, it’s time to install a new air conditioner and you’re pretty sure there just isn’t enough room in the walls or ceilings to place the necessary ductwork. No problem. There is a rapidly evolving technology that allows you to have air conditioning without ductwork. It’s called mini-split ductless air conditioning and it relies on individual units placed in key locations around your Newcastle house. Here’s how they work.

Multi-Zone Cooling

The first step is to install a central unit. This is your compressor and condenser and is usually placed outside like the core of a central AC system. These units range between 15,000 and 40,000 BTUs depending on how much cooling your home needs and will support up to 4 zones within your house.

Once the central unit is installed, smaller room-sized units are placed throughout your house. These units are designed for between 9,000 and 18,000 BTU spaces and are usually placed high on the wall of your room to distribute cooled air. The smaller units are connected to the main unit by refrigerant lines that are run up the side of your house (or inside if you want them out of the elements).

Because each indoor unit is individual and has its own thermostat, you save electricity by having direct control over each part of your home. In fact, the average ductless split system uses something like 30% less electricity than a standard air conditioning system.

Is it Right for You?

This is the most common question we hear and to be honest, it really depends on your needs. If you have a large house – we’re talking 3,000 square feet or bigger, a multi-zone ductless system may not provide enough cooling on its own. Most systems only support up to 4 individual units and therefore cannot cool massive spaces. However, if you have a smaller home, or more importantly have no space for ductwork, these systems are much more efficient than installing multiple window units.

If you have any questions about installing ductless air conditioning in Newcastle, give Advantage Airtech Heating & Air Conditioning a call today!

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

Save Energy and Increase Efficiency of Your Air Conditioning System!

Friday, July 20th, 2012

AC Effciency | Toronto | Advanatge AirtechDid you know that how your equipment is installed can have a big impact on its efficiency? If you have decided to replace your old air conditioner with a new, more energy efficient model, you want to make sure that you are able to utilize it to its full capacity. Your air conditioner needs to be the right size, connected properly to your duct system, and charged with the correct amount of refrigerant. Give us a call today to learn more!

We are all trying to find ways to save energy this summer. An easy way to use your air conditioner less is to avoid using the oven on really hot days. Use the stove instead, or even better, grill outside. The less heat in your home, the less energy your air conditioner will need to keep it cool. You should also make sure you have adequate insulation and keep your curtains closed during the day, which will help keep the cold inside where you need it. A programmable thermostat is also a great way to save energy!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

Pickering Air Conditioning Question: What Are Thermostatic Expansion Valves?

Monday, July 9th, 2012

The thermostatic expansion valve, sometimes known as a TEX, TEV or TXV, is a critical piece to influence the efficiency of your Pickering air conditioning system.  A tiny sensor controlling the evaporating phase of process, the valve can have a big effect.

Cool air is manufactured by a rapid movement of a refrigerant between liquid and gaseous states.  Compound chemicals that are able to do this at a low temperature are compressed and expanded, absorbing and releasing heat at different points along the way.  The TEV controls the flow of the refrigerant into the evaporator coils according to the temperatures of the various ingredients.

Cool Air 101

To condition air, the refrigerant evaporates into a gas that runs through a coil and absorbs heat.  Passing through a compressor, the freon condenses under pressure back into a liquid again and releases the heat, becoming cool enough to chill a party.

Too much refrigerant in the evaporator tube and the pressure is not low enough to expand to gas and absorb heat, working inefficiently for no gain.  Too little refrigerant and the conversion is also ineffective by not reaching the density needed to condense.

There are four types of valves with different benefits for different types of cooling environments.  With its ability to adjust minutely to changing conditions, the thermal expansion valve creates the perfect mixture of pressure and freon for more complicated systems.

At the Starting Gate

An interactive device, the valve senses the evaporator pressure and temperature and adjusts the flow of the refrigerant so as to maintain a given “superheat”, the differ­ence between the refrigerant vapor temperature and its sat­uration temperature.  By controlling superheat, the TEV keeps nearly the entire evaporator surface active while not permit­ting liquid refrigerant to return to the compressor.

Some valves operate on an electrical impulse from sensors that can measure the temperatures.  Others are open all the time.  The thermostatic expansion valve actually utilizes the pressure between the two sections to open or close itself, regulating flow based on the very same pressure it is designed to moderate.

Like the buildings they comfort, Pickering central air conditioning systems are varied and diverse.  There are nearly as many thermostatic expansion valves as there are units to receive them. For more information about central air conditioning systems, give Advantage Airtech Ltd. a call!

Tags: , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

Ajax Air Conditioning Q/A: How Do EER and SEER Work?

Monday, June 25th, 2012

If you’ve looked for a new air conditioner in Ajax recently, you probably noticed each unit comes with an EER or SEER rating. The former is for room air conditioners and the latter for central air conditioning units. In both cases, the number is a measure of how efficiently the system uses electricity. Effectively, if you buy a system with a high rating, you spend less on electricity. Of course, there are tradeoffs. The higher rated machines tend to cost much more, so as a homeowner, you’ll have to evaluate how much you can spend now and how long it will take to save money from that investment.

How EER and SEER Are Measured

These numbers are required by the government to tell you, the consumer, how many BTUs per hour the device can use for every watt of electricity drawn. The more BTUs a system can use, the better for your bill.

Let’s say you want to buy a 10,000 BTU system to cool your living room and dining room. A pretty standard number for a single room unit is 11, meaning the 10,000 BTU system would use about 900 watts per hour to run at full capacity. We figure this out by dividing the BTUs (10,000) by the watts (900).

There is a lot of math to do here, so many people simply look for a higher number within their price range. But, at what point is the upgrade really worth your extra money?

Choosing the Right Energy Efficiency Rating

The easiest way to describe this is to compare two similar devices with different EERs:

  Air Conditioner 1 Air Conditioner 2
BTUs 12,000 12,000
EER 9 11
Watts 1333 1091
Price $300 $450

In this particular case, we can spend more for a device that is the same size but uses less electricity. The question then is whether that increased expenditure will pay off in the short term. Let’s assume each device would be operated for 10 hours per day for 30 days in a typical summer month. That’s 300 hours of operation. If the average cost per kWh in you are is $0.09, it will take 4 hours for the first air conditioner to consume 1 extra kilowatt of electricity equal to an additional $0.09. If your air conditioner runs for four months out of the year, we know that it will operate for a total of 1200 hours. That means:

[(1200 hrs x 242 watts) / (1000 watts/kw) ] x $0.09/kWh = $26

So, you save roughly $26 per year from that high efficiency unit. With a $150 price difference, you will break even after 6 years (though probably sooner if the price of electricity goes up).

Don’t forget, however, that central air conditioning systems are a much more efficient option with SEERs of up to 16.5 and much larger BTU areas to cover. The savings there can add up very quickly. For help choosing the perfect air conditioning system for your Ajax home, give Advantage Airtech Heating & Air Conditioning a call!

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

Proper Airflow in Your Ontario Air Conditioner

Friday, June 15th, 2012

AC Airflow | Pickering | Advantage AirtechProper airflow is important is important for your AC to function efficiently. If your air flow is too slow, because of a dirty filter or dirty blower fan, the air coming out of your AC will be too cold. If the air gets very cold, the coils might ice over. If you think that your AC is producing abnormally cold air, call a technician today to examine your unit, they can quickly diagnosis the issue and get your air conditioner working properly.

Advantage Airtech provides top quality air conditioning and heating services throughout Ontario. We service customers across the Durham region and the Greater Toronto area.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

Ajax AC Question: Why Is My Air Conditioner Not Cooling?

Monday, June 11th, 2012

Designed to last for a long time, your Ajax air conditioner is able to run virtually trouble free with just a little maintenance annually.  If these little things like changing the air filter and cleaning the drain are not done regularly, the neglected units can really lose their cool.

The Basic Course

Through a process which involves the rapid evaporation and condensation of chemicals called refrigerants, air conditioners use compounds that have properties that allow them to change rapidly from gas to liquid and back again at low temperatures.

Heat is absorbed when the liquid evaporates and transforms into gas, making the space around it cooler.  Compressing it tightly together again, the heated gas condenses back into liquid with a residue of unwanted moisture that must be released and is vented usually to the outdoors.

The newly cooled air is distributed through the house by means of ductworks, pushed by fans driven by electric motors.  As the air moves along, it passes through a filter and can be further de-humidified.

Problems in the System

If the filter is clogged, movement of the cooled air is slowed to the point we might think the unit is broken.  If the condensate drain is plugged, the motor can get damaged and stop producing.  Regular maintenance performed by the home owner or as a service of Advantage Airtech Heating & Air Conditioning can avoid or eliminate these simple aggravations.

When the heat builds, however, and cool relief seems nowhere near the air ducts, it may be time to call a professional to dig deeper to find the reason and suggest solutions.

Back to Cool

If not serviced regularly, the amount of refrigerant in the coils may decrease over time or the coils themselves could get clogged and impede the evaporation/condensation process.  A leak in the coils could drain the system, rendering the unit useless and wholly unproductive.

There are belts on each of the two separate fan motors which may be worn or loose, causing the fans to blow less efficiently.  The motor may need to be oiled or have a broken part that doesn’t allow it to push the air at all.

Most of the time, these fixes are relatively minor and do not threaten the life of the air conditioning unit.  Schedule an annual inspection and service from a certified Ajax air conditioning company like Advantage Airtech to take it off your list and stay cool.

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Air Conditioning | Comments Off

« Older Entries