HVAC Technology — The masters of cooling and heating
What is HVAC?
HVAC stands for Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning can be defined as the mechanical systems that provide thermal comfort and air quality in an indoor space. They are basically central air conditioners, heat pumps, furnaces, packaged system, boilers, rooftop units, chillers. HVAC Technology caters to our thermal comfort and indoor air quality.
Types of HVAC:-
Ø SPLIT HVAC: It is a type of home comfort system that cools our home in the summer and warms it during the winter. It consists of five main parts:
1. Indoor Unit, which can be a furnace or air handler.
2. Outdoor Unit, typically a heat pump or an air conditioner.
3. Thermostat comes in both programmable and non programmable modes.
4. Indoor air quality component.
5. Ductwork.
Ø HYBRID SYSTEM: These Types of system uses a combination of fossil fuel furnace for heating and an electronic space-conditioning heat pump for cooling.
Ø DUCT-FREE SPLIT SYSTEM: These are wall or ceiling mounted systems offering flexibility in zonal cooling and heating.
Ø PACKAGED HEATING AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM: These types of systems comes pre assembled. And can extend the cooling load beyond 20 tons. They are generally used in restaurants and other commercial places.
Ø WINDOW AC SYSTEM: These systems are generally used for single rooms. The components such as compressor, condenser, expansion coil, evaporator and cooling coils all come enclosed in a single box.
Ø HEAT PUMP: Heat pumps are HVAC systems that offer an energy efficient alternative to furnaces and Air conditioners. Heat pumps uses electricity to move heat from cooler space to warmer space, further cooling the cool space and warming the warm space.
Ø CHILLED WATER SYSTEM: In such systems the entire conditioner is installed on the roof or behind the building. This system cools the water to about 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit and then the chilled water is piped throughout the building. This system provides versatility as the water pipes acts like the evaporators in a standard air conditioner.
While the above systems are efficient, there are always ways to improve them to be more efficient. Implement the following to get an optimal Energy efficient HVAC system:
Ø Air Filters are to be changed regularly:
Air filters needs to be changed on a monthly basis during the heavy use months. Dirty air filters will make the system work harder to keep us cool or warm significantly increasing energy consumption.
Ø HVAC equipment needs to be tuned up annually:
Tuning up the HVAC equipment improves the heating and cooling mechanism of the overall system.
Ø Installing a programmable Thermostat:
If you are away from home a lot during the week, a programmable thermostat is ideally suited for you. A programmable thermostat can significantly reduce energy consumption with a pre-programmed setting.
Ø Sealing the heating and cooling ducts:
Energy efficiency of about 20 percent can be reached with proper sealing and insulation of ducts. Sealing and insulating ducts can keep them from heating during the summer and cooling during the winter.
Ø Proper installation of Equipment:
Replace your older equipment with newer, energy efficient equipment. For optimal performance, the newer equipment should be properly installed. Improper installations could reduce efficiency up to 30 percent.
While modern HVAC systems are efficient, we can still optimize them for better performances. For instance the more efficient our systems are the more profitable we stand.