Posts Tagged ‘Kendall’

Miami Air Conditioning Tip: Basic Components of Your AC System

Monday, March 11th, 2013

Now that the cooling season is upon us, many Miami homeowners are turning on their AC. But quite a few of them don’t know how their air conditioning system works, which can make it hard to tell if their system needs repair. While it’s up to us to ensure that your system operates at its full capacity, informing new and current clients about the basic components of your air conditioning system is also part of our job at Air on Demand.  The sooner you recognize a problem or lack of performance, the more opportunity our Miami air conditioning technicians have to fix that problem quickly. Lingering problems could turn into larger ones. When you need air conditioning repair, maintenance, or replacement, call Air on Demand.

All of the basic components work as part of a refrigeration cycle, not unlike the refrigerator that keeps your food cold. Here are a few of the most important components:

  • Refrigerant. Refrigerant is the chemical mixture that travels throughout the indoor and outdoor coil systems, passing through a condenser and an evaporator. When air passes over the coils, it is cooled and circulated throughout your home. While R-22 refrigerant became the standard replacement for Freon, it is now being phased out for R-410A, which does not contain ozone-depleting chlorine.
  • Compressor. This motorized pump pressurizes refrigerant, which allows it to change into liquid and gas at certain points in the cooling cycle. It runs on electricity, and in a split system is typically housed in the outdoor unit along with the condenser.
  • Expansion valve. This device is located between your hot coils and cold coils, and it controls the rate of pressurized liquid refrigerant entering the evaporator.
  • Thermostat. The thermostat is the user interface of the cooling system. It allows you to create a set point, which is your desired system temperature. It communicates this to the air conditioning system itself and adjusts airflow accordingly.

If you need AC repair in Miami, call Air on Demand today!

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Get the Most Out of Your Panasonic Ductless Split in Miami

Monday, November 19th, 2012

What do you want from the heating and air conditioning system in your Miami home?  You want it to heat and cool your home; you want it to be durable; and you want it to be efficient. These are features that come standard with the Panasonic ductless mini split systems. We want our customers to be comfortable all year long. which is why we recommend Panasonic ductless mini split systems. Below we’ve outlined some of the benefits of ductless split systems and how you can make sure that you’re getting the most out of your system.

How Ductless Mini Split Systems Work

With a ductless mini split system, each room has its own evaporator coil, there is no need for ducts. This unit circulates air inside the room and either heats or cools the air. This unit is connected to a condensing unit that is located outside your home.

Zone Control

One of the main advantages of the Panasonic ductless mini split system is that it offers complete zone control in your home. Because each room has its own unit, you can turn on the units that you need to use. For example, if you know that you’re only going to use the living room and kitchen for the whole day, you can turn off the units in the other rooms. This saves you the energy of having to heat or cool the rooms that you aren’t using.

Efficiency

Ductless mini split systems also offer a high degree of efficiency for your home. A furnace uses a fuel source, like natural gas, to generate heat. But with Panasonic’s ductless mini split system, it simply moves heat from one place to another. In cooling mode, the ductless mini split system moves heat from inside your home to the outside. In heating mode, it does just the opposite: it takes heat from the outside air and moves it into your home.

If you have any questions about Panasonic ductless mini split system in Miami, call the experts at Air On Demand. If you’re interested in capitalizing on the benefits of a ductless system for your home, we would love to talk with you about it.

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Miami AC Tip: Sizing Ductless Air Conditioning Systems

Monday, July 9th, 2012

Proper sizing of your Miami air conditioning system is one of the most important factors affecting its operation. A system that is too small won’t be able to keep up, while one that is too large can lead to short cycling and excess humidity.

This applies not just to central air conditioning systems, but also to ductless systems. The main difference is that with ductless systems, not all systems have to have air handler units installed, so you don’t need to take every room into account. To get an estimate on what size ductless system you need, follow these 4 steps:

 1.       Measure each room

To start with, you need to know the area in square feet of each room room that will be cooled by the ductless system. To do this, measure the length and width of each room. For some oddly shaped rooms, you may need to divide it up into two or more rectangles and then add the square footage of each rectangle together to get the total area of the room. Exclude closets from your calculations.

2.       Convert area to BTUs

For each room, convert the area you just calculated into how much energy will be needed to cool them, which we measure in British Thermal Units (BTUs). As a rule of thumb, multiplying square footage by 25 will yield the approximate number of BTUs needed for that space. So, a 200 square foot room needs about 5000 BTUs for proper cooling.

3.       Consider the variables

There are other factors aside from square footage that determine a particular room’s heating needs. These variables include the local climate, the number of people usually in the room at one time, the number of appliances operating in that room and how well the room is insulated. A good general rule is to add 4,000 BTUs to the total for a kitchen and 1,000 for a bathroom.

4.       Add it all up

Once you have the BTUs for each room, add them all up to find the whole house BTUs, which is generally how split systems are rated and labeled.

Keep in mind that this only yields an estimate, and that there are plenty of variables to consider when sizing an AC system. Hiring a Miami AC professional to do a load calculation is the best way to get an accurate assessment of your home’s cooling needs. Call Air On Demand today if you are interested in having a ductless system installed in your home!

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Miami AC Guide: Optimal Air Conditioning Installation

Monday, June 18th, 2012

Guideline #1: Air Circulation Clearance

Air conditioners, whether they are installed in Miami or Coconut Grove, need to be able to circulate the air around them. They draw the warm ambient air in to keep the refrigerant lines from freezing and pump the cooled air out into the home. So, the outdoor condenser units need enough clearance from outside walls, shrubs and other possible obstructions. When installing an outdoor condenser unit, they should be set far enough off the house that air can circulate easily and any surrounding shrubs or trees should be pruned back or removed. Improper circulation clearance can degrade the performance of the unit and significantly shorten its life.

Guideline #2: Refrigerant Lines

Refrigerant lines need some extra slack left in them to prevent possible damage. If a line is totally taut and the condenser unit were to move even a little bit – perhaps because of non-level ground or inclement weather – it can easily get damaged. Damaged lines can leak refrigerant, causing performance problems and potential health hazards.

Guideline #3: Proper Insulation

In addition to being protected from damage, refrigerant lines also need to be properly insulated. Inadequate or missing insulation can cause excess moisture and condensation from the lines, resulting in dehumidification problems, water damage and possibly even insect problems. Keeping refrigerant lines insulated also keeps performance high and operation costs low.

Guideline #4: Distance from the Home

There isn’t a set “proper” distance from the home for a compressor unit to be installed. It can work from just about any reasonable distance. The issue is just keeping the refrigerant lines at the right diameter for the distance, so that the refrigerant can flow properly.

Guideline #5: Level Ground

Finally, the outdoor unit needs to be installed on level ground, typically on a pad of concrete, vinyl or some other durable material. This helps ensure proper clearance (see guideline #1) and a unit that won’t move readily (guideline #2).

With an understanding of those five guidelines, you can have a reasonable idea of what a properly installed air conditioner looks like. Call Air On Demand today if you want more information about Miami air conditioning system installation!

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