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Energy By Design
Have you ever thought about it? Air conditioning has been around all of our lives but it wasn't available until a relatively short time ago. Residential cooling systems are actually a new luxury, although mankind has tried to create ways to stay cool throughout history.
Romans used the idea of running cool water from their amazing system of aqueducts through the walls of their homes. The Chinese invented a room size fan operated by hand in the second century, and many variations of cooling have been experimented with throughout the centuries. All of the methods used were labor intensive and only available for the most wealthy citizens.
Then, in 1902, Willis Carrier, a 25 year old engineer from New York, looking for a way to control humidity in the printing plant where he worked, designed the first air conditioner. Not only did it control humidity, it cooled the printing plant and in turn, changed our lives.
We don't even think about it today unless the power goes out and concerns of the elderly come into focus. Air conditioning has saved lives and enabled us to live very comfortably in climates that not too many years ago could become dangerously hot in the summer months.
Even as late as 1965 only 10% of U.S. households had the luxury of air conditioning. Now, a whopping 87% of homes have air conditioning in some form. Our lives, our landscape and our culture have all changed dramatically because of something as seemingly simple as air conditioning.
Ahhh...but air conditioning is far from simple. In fact, the mechanics of A/C are actually quite complex. Far more so than the mechanics of producing heat. Rather than using energy to produce heat, air conditioning systems utilize a compression cycle to transfer the heat from the air inside your home and move it to the outdoors. The compressor is filled with a fluid called refrigerant. The refrigerant changes from a liquid to a gas and back again as it moves through a system of coils housed within the air conditioning unit. As the refrigerant changes, it absorbs the heat from the air inside your home and then releases it at the optimal time for moving it to the outdoor air. Amazing!
There are three main types of air conditioners used in Florida: central air conditioning systems, room air conditioners and the increasingly more common heat pump system.
Central Air Conditioners
Central air conditioners are designed to cool the entire house. The air conditioning unit that houses the compressor is located outside of the home. Inside the unit is the system of coils filled with refrigerant which cools the air. The cool air is then distributed throughout the home, usually powered by a fan on the furnace, via a system of ducts. The ducts that carry the cool air throughout the home are the same as those that carry warm air from the furnace in cool weather.
Room Air Conditioners
The concept of using coils and refrigerant to move warm air outside is the same with a room air conditioner as with central air. The difference is that the cool air is not moved through a system of ducts but by a fan located inside of the unit. Room air conditioners are most often mounted in windows but can be a more permanent unit when designed to be built into an exterior wall. These systems work well in a home that is heated by a boiler and is without duct work. The advantage of room air conditioning units is their ability to cool local areas within the home and the initial cost of the unit being less than a central air unit. Of course there is the disadvantage of not being able to cool the entire house without multiple units.
Heat Pumps
Heat pumps are increasing in popularity due to the energy savings that these systems can provide. The concept behind these systems is quite remarkable. Heat pumps have the advantage of an air conditioning system in the warm weather and then in the cool weather their action can be reversed. The same system that carries the warm air out of your home in the summer can extract heat from the air or the earth in the winter time to provide heat. These systems are highly efficient and produce an energy cost savings of up to 60%! The downside is the cost of installation. But if your plan is to stay in your home long term, the energy savings are worth the initial expense.
There are other types of air conditioners, some useful for the dry southwest climate and some new technologies that are just beginning to be utilized in special circumstances but for now, our central, room, and heat pump air conditioning systems are keeping our homes cool and comfortable.
The best way to make sure our homes stay cool and comfortable is by managing air leakage and the building's thermal envelope. That's why measuring air leakage with Blower Door Testing and Duct Leakage Testing has become essential.
Energy By Design performs Building Envelope Testing.
Call for an appointment today: 407-450-0295