Consumer comfort with high-tech toys, combined with rising energy prices, have created a good market for manufacturers of thermostats and controls. It’s a far cry from a few years ago, when too many homeowners were too willing to override the energy-saving settings on their programmable t-stats.
Dirty Sock Syndrome started appearing a decade or more ago. Since then, people have tried to figure out the source and what to do to solve the problem. A couple of companies have developed coating solutions.
If what has transpired over the first three months since Title 24 went into effect is the norm, business may remain as usual for contractors in California this year. And, that's what scares law-abiding HVAC contractors in California.
The compressor's discharge temperature is often an overlooked temperature when troubleshooting a refrigeration or A/C system. However, it's very important because it's an indication of the amount of heat absorbed in the evaporator and suction line, and any heat of compression generated by the compression process.
Superheat is probably the most talked about, yet misunderstood, technical term used by technicians. Superheat on the system's low side can be divided into two types: evaporator superheat and total (or compressor) superheat.
Condensing temperatures often give technicians valuable hints as to what the problem may be within a refrigeration system. The high side of the refrigeration system offers valuable information to the wise technician.
The core of a refrigeration system is the compressor that is designed to pump cool refrigerant gas from the evaporator into the condenser. Refrigeration compressors need to be properly maintained and require periodic inspection and testing.
A feature story in the Dec. 1, 2003, issue of The News dealt with air conditioning system diagnosis. That article focused on airflow problems. This article concentrates on refrigerant flow problems.
In our approach to humidity control for air conditioning systems, we must not overlook one very basic fact: If the evaporator coil is not cold enough, it cannot remove moisture, and it will stop removing moisture at its dewpoint temperature.