| Welcome to airconditionmission3.com where
you can find all things related to the world of Air
Conditioners. Air conditioning. What a lifesaver. It
has made the suburbs possible. Manufacturing from the
north to the south occurred because plants could be
built and people could work in them without collapsing
from the heat. Its cost at one point, however, drew
one scientist, William Schockley the co-inventor of
the transistor, to move his research facilities to California,
to what later became known as Silicon Valley. There
he did not have to put air conditioning in his building.
Even when air-conditioning was purposely avoided, it
had an impact.
So it started out as a way of making people comfortable.
Right? Well, not exactly. In 1882, thanks to Thomas
Edison, the first electric power plant opened in New
York making it possible for the first time to have
an inexpensive source of energy for residential and
commercial buildings. And by 1889, central station
refrigeration was used in large cities to preserve
foods and documents. It was well known that a cool
surrounding could preserve foods and other perishables
for a long time. But what was not well known was how
humidity and heat were related. Then in 1902, Willis
Carrier built the first air conditioner to combat
humidity inside a printing company. Controlling the
humidity in printing companies and textile mills was
the start of environment management. |
|
What Is Air Conditioning Efficiency?
02/08/12
Central air conditioners and heat pumps operating in the cooling mode are
rated according to their seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER), which is the
seasonal cooling output in Btu divided by the seasonal energy input in watt-hours
for an average U.S. climate. Many older central air conditioners have SEER ratings
of only 6 or 7. The national efficiency standard for central air conditioners
now requires a minimum SEER of 10, and to qualify for an ENERGY STAR label requires
a SEER of 13 or higher. In 2006, minimum standards will rise to 12 or 13-the
final level has not been set because of ongoing litigation. Besides SEER, there
are two other factors to check. The first is high temperature performance. Although
it is not a federally rated number, the EER at 95ºF is available. Look
for at least EER 11. In addition, a small device called a "thermal expansion
device" (TXV), preferably factory-installed, should be specified. The TXV
improves high temperature performance, and helps the unit deliver its rated
efficiency even under adverse conditions (such as inaccurate or low refrigerant
levels). The device costs much less than the service call or inefficiency it
guards against. The efficiency of room air conditioners is measured by the energy
efficiency ratio (EER), which is the ratio of the cooling output (in Btu) divided
by the power consumption (in watt-hours). A typical new room air conditioner
has an EER of about 9.8. The national appliance efficiency standards for room
air conditioners now require a minimum EER of about 9.7 or 9.8 for the most
common units. The minimum efficiency varies depending on the design and cooling
capacity of each unit. The ENERGY STAR criteria for room air conditioners is
10.7 or 10.8 for units of less than 20,000 Btu/hr. When you're shopping for
air conditioners, look for SEER ratings over 13 (14 in warm climates) for central
air conditioners and EER ratings of 11 or higher for room air conditioners.
High-efficiency units generally cost more, but in hot climates more efficient
units pay for themselves over a few years through reduced electricity bills.
Central air conditioners are usually more efficient than room air conditioners,
and in general, larger capacity air conditioners have higher efficiency. However,
don't buy a larger system than you need just because it has higher efficiency.
|
