Top 5 Tips For Understanding Your Air Conditioner
Most people don't know how their air conditioner works
. They lack the knowledge to make informed decisions about their air conditioning needs. Even commercial buildings have varying standards of air conditioning, due to design issues.
Air conditioning basics
A typical evaporative air conditioner operates like a refrigerator. The unit contains Freon gas which is compressed and heated. This gas runs through external coils to dissipate its heat. As it cools, it condenses into a liquid. It is then passed through an expansion valve allowing the gas to become low pressure gas, which is passed through another set of internal coils, producing the cooling effect.
Other basic functions include:
Dehumidifiers: These take moisture out of the air. This water is used to cool the unit, and is then extracted by a hose to the outside or reused as a cooling agent.
Filtration: The filters catch particles from the building including pollen, mold spores and dust.
What's a BTU, and why do you need to know?
BTU stands for British Thermal Unit. This is an old measurement unit, based on the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 pound of water (0.45 kg) of water 1 degree Fahrenheit (O.56C).
A BTU is calculated as 1055 joules.
A suburban house may need a 50,000 BTU air conditioning system. This figure is based on calculating the BTU relative to the area of the building, which rates the building according to the number of BTU divided by the area of the house. A 1000 square home may have a 25,000 BTU air conditioner, or 25 BTU per square metre.
The BTU is also the basis of the calculation of energy efficiency ratings, (EER). The EER is calculated relative to the wattage power of the unit. This is literally the BTU divided by the wattage. A 10,000 BTU unit using 1000 watts is therefore rated at 10. The higher the rating, the better, in terms of efficiency.
What works where, and why
If your home is in an area which is subject to extremes of heat and cold, you would obviously need a highly rated air conditioner, for example a good
ducted air conditioner. If you live in a temperate area, you may not specifically need a high rating, but you need a unit which can work with different climatic conditions.
Cost and energy efficiency for your home
Typically, the higher rated units are more expensive, but in many cases they pay back the outlay with savings over time and quality of performance. The new emphasis on green, energy efficient systems is starting to reduce prices, so your budget may not be under much extra strain.
Making an informed choice
It's not difficult to select your air conditioner, when you know the number of BTU you're likely to need, and how to understand EER ratings.
You know what you need, and you understand how your air conditioner operates, so making an informed choice is easy.
by: Robert Graham
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