Archive for February, 2010
Indoor air pollution is a serious health hazard; in fact, it has been shown to be at least partly responsible for the occurrence of a number of health conditions. Many people have reported their allergies are often made worse by the unclean air circulating in their homes. That is why it is essential to be sure your air ducts are cleaned and properly cared for on a regular basis.
One important part of maintaining a clean air conditioning and heating system is making sure the filter is regularly changed. This process should take place at least once a year, and even more frequently if necessary. If you do not own your own home, you should make sure your landlord takes care of this important detail. Failure to do so can result in the circulation of unclean air through your home, as well as actually diminishing proper air flow.
Regular air duct cleaning has been shown to help prevent some health problems, while easing the stress of others that already exist. While some in the profession will argue that this has not actually been proven, it is strongly believed by others because of the improvement people have experienced after having the ducts cleaned. It is time to consider having your air ducts cleaned if the following occurs.
If mold is visible on or around your air duct, it is time to have it cleaned. This will remove the mold that can be potentially dangerous to you and others living in your home. Because of the nature of certain molds, it may be necessary to have this area treated before the cleaning takes place. It is important to remember that though a substance may appear to be mold, it may take an expert in the field to actually determine if this is true.
If your air ducts are insolated and they become wet or moldy, it is time to have them cleaned. If this is the case, the insulation should be removed and replaced. This is an important detail because it may be more internal and, therefore, more difficult to see.
If you do find there is an occurrence of mold, you should remove the cause. If you fail to do this, the mold will recur. The cleaner your air is overall, the easier it will be to breathe. Cleaner, less polluted air will also result in better health for you and your family.
Amy Nutt
http://www.articlesbase.com/environment-articles/the-importance-of-regular-air-duct-cleaning-139399.html
A Toyota commercial; dedicated to air conditioning installers everywhere
Duration : 0:0:28
If you are currently in the process of deciding what system to use to provide heat to your home, you may want to consider a relatively new option available to you - a geothermal heating system.
Geothermal energy is one of the new wave of environmentally friendly options we now have for producing energy. This energy comes directly from the earth beneath our feet and there is a never ending supply available to us.The energy provided by a geothermal heating system relies on the stability of the temperature in the ground below us.
This creates the stable environmental conditions that are perfect for heat exchange to occur efficiently. Hot air can be pumped below ground, cooled and pumped back up where it is used to cool the buildingAnd the opposite can also occur - you can heat air below ground and pump it up into a building during winter to provide warmth
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A geothermal heating system has a number of advantages and make a great choice for people who have the money to cover the relatively high installation costs
This type of system will immediately allow you to dramatically lower your energy bill by reducing your reliance on electricity for heating, cooling and hot waterThe energy provided by this system has no associated pollution making it one of the greenest sources of energy available.
The energy provided by geothermal sources is also extremely reliable - no more worrying about power outages in the middle of winterGeothermal heating is also far more efficient than traditional methods because of this constancy in the earth's temperature
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The two components that are installed as part of this system are the pipes that will be run beneath the building and a ground source heat pump connected to these pipes.
The depth and length of the pipes will vary depending on the soil, the land area available, your climate as well as your budget.
The pipes can be laid in a number of ways from straight down and deep, to coiled and shallow.The ground source heat pump is used to pump the air through these pipes and force the exchange to take place - either cooling or heating it as required up above.If you are going to have a geothermal heating system installed it will need to be done by a pro
For more information on geothermal heating and cooling check out this article: Geothermal Heating And Cooling.
While the costs of installing this system will take a bit of a chunk out of your bank balance, it will start paying for itself immediately as your power bill comes down and you enjoy clean, cheap heating and cooling
The chief gauge of the efficiency of any insulation is its R-Value. Insulation is designed to prevent the flow of heat. The more heat the insulation stops, the higher the R-Value of that insulation.
When compared to fiberglass batt insulation, spray foam insulation has a higher R-value at a given thickness. So this tells us that if we were to put 2 inches of spray foam insulation in the roof that you would have much better insulation properties than if you installed 2 inches of fiberglass batt insulation.
Another insulation type which is known as cellulose fill whether it is blown in or applied by hand, also has a higher R-value than fiberglass insulation of the same thickness. This still doesn't compare to the R-value of spray foam insulation though, as it is almost twice as high as the cellulose fill insulation of a comparable thickness.
R-value is truly important yes, but it is not the only factor that you want to bring into consideration when trying to choose the best insulation for your home. Moisture will cause both fiberglass batts and cellulose fill to lose R-value. Just a small amount of moisture is enough to cancel out the insulating properties of fiberglass batt and cellulose.
Neither cellulose fill or fiberglass will be able to give you the 100% caverage that you really need with your insulation The fact that heat is allowed to pass through these gaps is obvious, but these facts are not computed into the R-values of these two materials. In other words, the actual R-value of installed fiberglass batt or cellulose fill roof insulation is lower than the listed R-value.
Benefits of Spray Foam Insulation
There are no adverse actions of spray foam if it gets some moisture on it. A really cool thing is that it can even prevent leaks in your home as the stuff expands to fill every gap, crack, and crevase effectively sealing your entire roof. If for some reason your home is exposed to pollutants or other harmful airborne things, your foam insulation will effectively keep it out whereas the gaps that are left behind with the fiberglass and cellulose will let it through.
The best part of spray foam insulation is the fact that it isn't really anymore expensive than your traditional insulation materials.
Read more on spray foam insulation kits
Most air-conditioners and heat pumps sold around the world use a refrigerant known as R-22. Emissions of R-twenty two are considered by some experts to be a significant issue in depleting the ozone layer that protects animals and individuals from harmful rays from the sun.
Families now have the selection to raise for an air-conditioner or heat pump that uses a additional economical and environmentally friendlier refrigerant known as 410A or R-410 when shopping for a brand new system for their home.
It’s Environmentally Friendlier. If your system ever leaks, the escaping refrigerant won’t contribute to ozone depletion! Why can’t R-410A have an effect on the ozone layer? R-410A isn't a CFC or an HCFC. It's called an HFC, or hydrofluorocarbon, and is made of hydrogen, fluorine, and carbon atoms. Because it's no chlorine, it won’t interact with the ozone layer once it breaks down.
You avoid the chance that R-twenty two might become expensive or troublesome to urge when your system desires to be repaired in a few years. The old refrigerant R-22 can be phased out along with alternative ozone depleting chemicals, and both supply and demand of this chemical will be significantly full of current and upcoming regulations. By selecting an air conditioner or heat pump that uses R-410A, you may avoid the risk associated with buying a product that's destined to become obsolete.
R-410A systems will be additional reliable than R-twenty two systems. R-410A air conditioning and heat pump are today’s “state of the art” systems, and utilize the most current technology available for efficient and reliable operation. The heart of every air conditioner or heat pump is that the compressor, and newer systems are specifically designed to use R-410A refrigerant. R-410A will absorb and unharness heat a lot of efficiently than R-twenty two ever could, compressors with R-410A run cooler than R-22 systems, reducing the chance of burnout because of overheating.
We have a tendency to all recognize that the first thing “to travel” on an air conditioning unit is the compressor. All air-conditioning systems use an oil that circulates through the within of the system to keep all of the components well lubricated, just just like the engine of your car. R-twenty two air conditioners use an oil referred to as “mineral oil” that has been used for decades. R-410A air conditioners use newer synthetic lubricants that are sometimes additional soluble with the R-410A than the previous mineral oils are with the older R-22 refrigerants. This suggests the synthetic lubricants and R-410A will mix and flow into additional efficiently to stay the compressor and different moving parts lubricated, reducing wear and increasing their life. Also, simply as several new cars use artificial oils as a result of they're less probably to interrupt down below high stress and heat, the new artificial oils used in R-410A air conditioners are less likely to break down underneath extreme conditions.
R-410A offers some wonderful benefits, but it needed the makers of air conditioners to redesign their products to take advantage of the properties of the refrigerant. The explanation why a refrigerant works is as a result of it captures the heat from one place, and then releases the heat somewhere else. R-410A captures heat and then releases it better than R-22 did, so manufacturers have found that they have less refrigerant in an R-410A air conditioner than they needed in an R-22 air conditioner. As a result of there’s less refrigerant, they have less copper tubing, and often can use a smaller compressor. The dangerous news was that R-410A couldn’t be utilized in air conditioners that were made to use R-twenty two, however the benefits for brand new air conditioners were too nice to pass up.
It's obvious that air conditioners manufactured for using R-410A are additional efficient, more reliable, and may even be more cost effective then the older units that still use R-22. Compare the SEER or EER ratings and also the ENERGY STAR rating to be sure.
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