Envirotech Air Quality Services Blog : Archive for April, 2014

How Does Your Air Conditioner Cool the Air?

Friday, April 25th, 2014

Air conditioners are one of many appliances that form part of modern daily life, but whose operation few people aside from professionals fully understand. ACs produce cold air through a process that has something to do with a chemical called refrigerant, and there’s exhaust involved….That’s as much as most people know about how air conditioners work, and even that might be stretching it a bit.

In this post we’ll describe the action of an air conditioner and how it cools down your home. Although we will keep our description as simple as possible, keep in mind that modern air conditioning systems are anything but simple in their mechanics. When you need air conditioning repair in Wellington, FL, only call on professionals, not amateurs. And don’t try repairs yourself! Call Envirotech Air Quality Services: we’re ready any time of the day or night to repair your AC.

Air Conditioning Basics

Air conditioners work through the principle of heat exchange: they do not create cooling, they instead move heat from the air in one location (inside your house) and remove it as heat exhaust into another (outside your house). The basic components that allow an air conditioner to do this are refrigerant, the compressor, the evaporator coil, the condenser coil, and the blower fans.

Refrigerant is a chemical blend that makes an easy phase transition between liquid and gas. It begins the heat exchange cycle in the compressor, which turns the liquid refrigerant into a hot, high pressure gas. The refrigerant moves first to the outdoor coil, where contact with the outdoor air causes condensation, a process that releases heat to the outside.

The cooled-down refrigerant now moves to the indoor unit and through its coil, which is the evaporator coil. As the warm air inside contacts the colder refrigerant in the coil, evaporation occurs, which absorbs heat. The refrigerant returns to the compressor to start the process over, while the blower fan sends out the air that has had heat removed from it into the ductwork. Thus, you feel air coming from the vents that’s cooler than the air in the room.

Care and Maintenance of an Air Conditioner

All the components of an AC are important for effective operation. If you notice a decline in cooling power or drop in airflow from your air conditioning system, you need to call repair technicians to find where the problem lies and fix it.

You should also receive annual maintenance on the system to make sure it is not developing malfunctions and to ensure that it works at its most efficient. Call Envirotech Air Quality Services to sign up for regular maintenance, as well as any necessary air conditioning service you need for your home in Wellington, FL.

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Air Conditioning Repair vs. Replacement

Friday, April 18th, 2014

One of the great questions about any home comfort system is: “repair or replace?” When an air conditioner begins to malfunction, a homeowner will often wonder if continued repairs are cost-effective, or if replacing the system with a newer, higher-efficiency model makes for a better choice. There is no simple answer; we’ll look at the possibilities to help you narrow down your choices.

For help on the questions of air conditioning repair in West Palm Beach, FL, look to the staff of Envirotech Air Quality Services. Since 1987 we have helped South Florida find the best solutions to cooling down homes.

Repair?

If you have an air conditioner that is still a few years below the manufacturer’s estimated lifespan, you should look into repairs first before replacement… as long as you have kept up with stringent preventive maintenance every year on the system. A well-maintained AC will usually make it past its estimated lifespan, although occasional repairs are always possible.

If you have an extended warranty for your air conditioner on top of the manufacturer’s limited warranty, the system may still be under warranty and you should make repairs a priority. This is a reason that we recommend customers opt for the extended warranty that covers many years beyond the system’s installation. You can also purchase extended warranties for already installed systems, depending on the manufacturer. For example, an extended warranty for Trane air conditioners is available for units up to 5 years after installation.

However, if you haven’t kept up with regular maintenance, the AC might not be capable of making it even halfway to its life-expectancy and you may need to replace it—even with warranty coverage. Make sure that your new system receives those regular inspections!

Replace?

When an AC is near to the upper end of its estimated lifespan, you should make replacement a priority, even with a system that seems to be operating fine. There are some major advantages in opting for replacement. First, you’ll avoid a decline in your system that will require numerous repairs to fix. Second, you can take advantage of a new high-efficiency air conditiones that will begin saving you money on your bills the moment you turn it on. Third, you can start off with an extended warranty so you’ll have peace of mind for many years.

You may also qualify for a Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) rebate when installing a new air conditioner. To qualify for the rebate, you must complete installation of a high-efficiency system with a minimum SEER of 14, and you must purchase the system through a Participating Independent Contractor. If you qualify, the rebate can be up to $1,930.

Call Envirotech Air Quality Services today to look into your current air conditioner to see if the time has come for a replacement. Our technicians will take into consideration your warranty and the FPL rebate; they will offer informed recommendations when they think a new system will benefit you.

Whether you need new air conditioning installation or air conditioning repair in West Palm Beach, FL, trust to the honesty, skill, and experience of our staff at Envirotech Air Quality Services.

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How to Maintain Good Indoor Air Quality During Allergy Season

Thursday, April 10th, 2014

Spring brings blossoms and flowers. It also marks the start of allergy season, and if you have people in your home who suffer from allergies, this can become an unpleasant time of year. During spring it’s more important than ever to maintain your home’s indoor air quality.

One of the best ways to keep your indoor air quality high is to open up windows to the outside to bring in fresh air. However, this is not a viable solution when it comes to allergy season, since this will invite in many of the pollutants that cause allergies in the first place. How can you maintain air quality with a house that needs to remain sealed from the outside as much as possible?

Envirotech Air Quality Services specializes in helping homeowners maintain healthy air inside their houses with advanced technology that goes beyond expectations. With the help of air purifiers in your West Palm Beach, FL home, our experts at Envirotech Air Quality Services can make allergy season more pleasant for everyone in your home.

The air purifier advantage

There are a number of installations in your HVAC system that will prevent allergens from entering your home and circulating through the ductwork. An air purifier fits into your existing heating and cooling system to work with it to remove particles from your air, in particular the ones that will trigger allergies. These contaminants include dust, dirt, pollen, pet dander, and bacteria. The type of air purifier you should have installed will depend on the allergens most likely to affect your home.

Mechanical air filters can do an excellent job of trapping large particles. HEPA filters, one of the most effective filters available, can trap 99.97% of all contaminants in your air, down to 0.3 microns in size. This will prevent most allergens from getting through. Electronic air filters can go even further: their ionization action can stop particles down to 0.01 microns. Ask your air quality specialists which type of filter will do the job you need.

If your ventilation system suffers from mold and bacterial growth during allergy season, air quality experts can install UV germicidal lights to destroy the pollutants and prevent them from returning.

Professional inspection and installation

To have proper and effective installation of air purifiers in West Palm Beach, FL, you will require the expertise of air quality specialists. When you contact Envirotech Air Quality Services, our trained technicians will find out what allergens are affecting your air and recommend the purifiers that will combat them. You can rely on their skill to install the purifiers so they work effectively. Also remember to have your home’s air purifiers regularly maintained so they keep protecting your indoor air quality.

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3 Things You Didn’t Know about Air Conditioning

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014

Air conditioners have cooled down the majority of U.S. homes since the middle of the 20th century. They now form as basic a part of our lives as other inventions of the previous century such as television, radio, and the computer.

But how much do you really know about the air conditioning that cools down your house, or that provides for a pleasant work environment during each hot and humid day of the spring and summer? Electro-mechanical air conditioning has an unusual history, and the devices themselves contain some surprises that few people who use them know about.

Envirotech Air Quality Services offers excellent installation, repair, and maintenance for air conditioning in Wellington, FL. We’re steeped in the workings of these remarkable machines, and we’d like to share with you 3 interesting facts about ACs you probably didn’t know:

1. Air conditioning does not create cold air

“Yes it does, I can feel the cold air blowing from it!” you may answer. But what you feel isn’t cold air that was created; it’s air that has had heat removed from it. Unlike heating systems such as furnaces, boilers, and standard fireplaces, all of which create heat through burning fuel, an air conditioner simply moves heat from one place to another. An air conditioner removes heat from inside your home, relocating it to the outside, thus cooling the air in your home.

2. Air conditioners were once extremely hazardous

In the early days of electro-mechanical air conditioning, an AC was more dangerous than a gas-powered furnace or fireplace. This was because the refrigerant used to create heat exchange—the movement of heat from indoors to outdoors—was composed of chemicals that were either highly combustible, acidic, or toxic. These first air conditioners used ammonia, propane, or methyl chloride, and leaks could turn dangerous. This made air conditioners unsuitable for use in homes during their first two decades, and they remained restricted to industrial and commercial operation. In 1928, the invention of the first non-toxic, non-acidic, and non-flammable refrigerant, Freon, made ACs practical for homeowners. Today, air conditioners are one of the safest home comfort systems available.

3. Air conditioners helped post-war expansion in the western U.S.

Even after the end of the “Wild West” frontier period, large stretches of the Western U.S. stayed sparsely inhabited because the extreme heat made living there in the summer difficult. In 1945, Robert Sherman invented a portable window unit AC. This made cooling down homes more affordable, and during the post-war boom, it helped the rapid expansion of cities in the Southwestern U.S., such as Phoenix and Albuquerque.

Your central air conditioner will probably aid you every day this summer keeping you cool. Make sure you have an excellent repair and maintenance program ready to lend a hand: Envirotech Air Quality Services  offers excellent air conditioning service in Wellington, FL to make sure you have a pleasant summer.

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