Ductless Air Conditioning Systems - Central Air for Any House

Until recently, any house without ductwork ("ductless") could not have central air. If you had forced hot water heating or electric heat, for example, your only options were to use noisy, highly inefficient, and expensive window air conditioners in each and every room you wanted to cool. This was as expensive as it was unsightly.

air conditioner wall unit

Now, the invention of ductless air conditioning systems provides everyone, regardless of how old your house is or how it is currently heated, the opportunity to get a central air conditioning. These systems are quiet, simple to use, energy efficient, and quick and easy to install. They can even be "zoned" to cool only parts of your house at a time.

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The system consists of just three parts:

1. Quiet indoor air-distribution units

2. Hidden refrigeration lines that link this/these units to...

3....an outdoor compressor/condenser.

The only visible parts to the ductless system inside the house are small 1-3 inch in diameter holes where the distribution units are mounted. Ductless systems are actually much less visible that almost any other kind of heating or cooling system.

You do not have to change any existing ductwork, or anything about how you currently heat your house to get a ductless air conditioning system.

Advantages of ductless air conditioning systems:

1. Central air increases the resale value of your house, and in some areas is close to required to get any buyer interest

2. They are very small; in fact they are practically invisible.

3. Ductless air systems are easy to install, and the technology has made it so that the systems can be installed with little or no disruption to existing walls and facades.

4. These systems have flexible types of installation - you can choose floor, ceiling, and/or wall-mounted units depending on what will be least visible and disruptive to your existing decor

5. They can be "zoned" to individually cool specific rooms or groups of rooms, further reducing the cost and wastefulness, especially as compared to window units.

Even in some homes that are heated with forced air, the ductless air conditioning system may be optimal because it will save the energy that is currently lost as air travels through the ductwork (think of cooled air passing through a duct in a super-hot attic, or hot air through a cold basement).

More and more you will see window units disappearing from homes like yours...look into the opportunity to use ductless central air conditioning yourself!

Ductless Air Conditioning Systems - Central Air for Any House

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The Air Conditioner - Central Air Or Window Air Conditioner

Air Conditioning is something that many people look at installing every year. There are many options when it comes time to make that decision. To help make that decision more clear, I will explore some of the positives and negatives of the two major options. Ductless split type units are also becoming more of an option. I will do another article on that option. To include that in this article would just be more confusing. So for now we will just look at window air conditioners and central air conditioning.

air conditioner portable

Central air conditioning is the best way to go if you already have a central hot air heating system already installed in your house or building. The advantage that you have is that you already have the air handler or blower part already installed. The ductwork for the distribution of the air is also all ready in place. The ductwork may need some modification to make it work well for air conditioning, but the major part of it should be adequate.

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To use the existing furnace and ductwork a coil will need to be installed at the furnace. An outdoor condenser unit will be installed outside and copper tubing will be used to connect the coil to the outdoor unit. Some electrical wiring will need to be done to power the outdoor unit. Low voltage wiring will be needed to hook the thermostat, the furnace, and the outdoor unit together so that they can talk to each other. Basically the thermostat will just tell the furnace to run the blower on high speed and the outdoor condenser to start up.

If there is no central hot air heating, then the installation of central air conditioning can be much more difficult. Many homes that do not have hot air heat also do not have the room to install ductwork. This would eliminate this possibility. If you are in this category you should get a professional to look at your situation to see if central air conditioning can be done. If it is the room available is to enough to do a good job and get large enough ductwork installed, then do not force the issue and go another option. Ductless split type air conditioning may be your best option.

A window air conditioner in my opinion is a last resort for air conditioning your house or building. There are many down sides to window air conditioning units. There are two good things that window air conditioners have going for them. They are very inexpensive when it comes to cost per BTU of cooling. They also install very quickly and easily. That is where the good part of them ends. Window air conditioners are security risks. If a thief wants to get into your house, the thin sheet metal box that holds the unit in the window can easily be pulled apart to get in through the window. I have seen many units that are not even screwed fast. If the window air conditioner is just there, balancing in the window frame, it becomes very inviting for a unexpected guest. The window air conditioner is also very inefficient. These units use more power per BTU of cooling than any other type of air conditioner. If you are a light sleeper, than chances are you will not want one of these window shakers. Window air conditioners are one of the loudest forms of air conditioning.

The blower for these units is very loud when running. Then add the noise of the compressor and you have enough decibels to keep many people wide awake all night long. If you choose to use a window air conditioner, than you should also look for a place that it can be secured and placed in a room that you will not be sleeping in.

As you can tell by now, I am not a big fan of window air conditioners. They do have a place for some people. However, you do need to be aware of the problems that you may encounter with them. The low initial cost can be offset by the fact that they typically do not last as long as a central air conditioner.

Central air conditioning will last much longer, be quieter during operation, be more efficient, be more secure, but the initial cost will be higher. How much depends on each situation. When considering your options for air conditioning installation you need to get prices for everything and then decide what type of unit will work the best for you. In another article I will talk about when to consider using a ductless split type air conditioning unit. They are also another possibility to consider.

The Air Conditioner - Central Air Or Window Air Conditioner

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Central Air Conditioners - 5 Major Brands

The majority houses in this country are adequate with heating and cooling equipment, which obviously makes life nice: cooling, filtering, and dehumidifying the air our house breathes. Selecting the spoton composition of equipment can be quite a task since you need to take into account factors like preliminary cost, vigor efficiency rating and other factors before you buy one. Capacity of the unit is an foremost factor to consider, as you need equipment the is not too small or large for the home or office to be cooled or heated. A suited contractor can make the primary load calculations.

Another point to consider before buying Hvac equipment is the Seer (Seasonal vigor Efficiency Ratio) ratings. It will tell you the efficiency of the air conditioning unit. Buy law, the newest models have a minimum 13 Seer rating.

DELONGHI PINGUINO PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONER

There are many brands of a/c that are known for their high-quality available throughout the United States. Five of the top brands contain Carrier, Bryant, Trane, Lennox, and Amana. All of these manufacturers offer exquisite heating and cooling equipment through numerous and sometimes confusing options that will fit every budget.

The fact is that price is a major constraint while Selecting a brand. But Selecting a law purely on price could cost you more over the next decade of ownership. All of these brands are high ability and highly reliable.  The best known brands will of policy cost more but they will always be around when you need service. The equipment with high efficiency ratings will also add to the front end cost, but they will save you in the long run.

It is safe to make the assumption that an old air conditioning unit should be upgraded it to a more productive one. You may even qualify for tax credits. You should also consider a regular maintenance schedule for your air conditioning unit to keep it optimum efficiency and so you wont have to call for air conditioning repair any sooner than necessary.

Central Air Conditioners - 5 Major Brands

DELONGHI PINGUINO PORTABLE AIR CONDITIONER

Central Air Conditioning

Buildings and large infrastructures generally have central air conditioning. A central air conditioning unit uses a split system for its condenser and compressor. The evaporator is attached to an air handling mechanism or a forced air furnace. The whole system is housed in a packaged unit that is often located outdoors, such as a rooftop or an outhouse.

air conditioner window

Cooled air is distributed to the different floors and rooms through air ducts. A tenant may raise or lower the temperature through controls located in each room. Some buildings do not have such temperature controls. Tenants will have to deal with the common temperature set for all floors.

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There are advantages to using a centralized air conditioning system. With the unit located outdoors, tenants are not bothered with the ambient noise that comes with a running air conditioning unit.

A sophisticated filtering system also cleans the air circulated in the whole building. Through various return-air ducts, room air is continually pulled and filtered. Through this process, dust particles and even microscopic pollutants are weeded out from the circulating air.

A centralized air conditioning unit also allows building administrators and engineers to control the energy consumption and voltage requirements of tenants. With a centralized air conditioning unit, tenants need not plug in their own stand-alone air conditioning unit.

In cooling or controlling temperatures, it is important that you can determine and dictate the total temperature. This is because it is easier and more economical to cool rooms with consistent temperatures. With a centralized air conditioning unit, you can do such.

When choosing the right brand or model for a central air conditioning unit, consider its filtering ability. Circulating air must be kept clean and fresh. Otherwise, you will be spreading pollutants to all areas of your building.

To give your tenants utmost convenience, you may have to provide them with the means to control the temperature on their respective floors. You may have to work with an architect to equip each floor with built-in controls.

Central Air Conditioning

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