Climate Masters Blog: Archive for May, 2014

How Does Zone Air Conditioning Work with Ducts?

Friday, May 30th, 2014

Central air conditioning is a wonderful invention, but it does come with an inherent flaw: when the AC turns on, every room in a home that is linked to the ventilation system receives the cooled air. Even rooms that don’t need them, like an empty guest room. Rooms that need cooling, but not as much, like a baby’s bedroom, still receive the same level of cooling as the rest of the house. People who have different comfort levels will feel uncomfortable while other people will feel just right.

There is a way to get around this problem, and that’s with zone control. You don’t have to put in a new AC to enjoy the advantages of zone air conditioning in St. Augustine, FL. With the right installers, such as those at Climate Masters, a new zone control system will fit right into your ductwork. This basic retro-fit will provide you with a new level of comfort and energy savings.

Here’s how zone control works with your existing ductwork

When installers come to your home to provide you with a zone control system, they access the ventilation shafts that lead to each of the “zones” of your house. (You decide how many zones you want. It can be as simple as “upstairs” and “downstairs” or as intricate as every individual room that is linked to the ductwork.) The technicians fit a damper into the duct, which can open and close. The damper forms a tight seal so they can effectively cut off flow to the zone.

Each of these dampers then connects to a zone thermostat, which controls that damper. This is important, because it permits individuals in the house to control the temperature wherever they are located. Each of these new local thermostats then connect to a central control panel, which gives you full access to each of the zones from a single location. You can program them for maximum energy savings.

Have professionals on the retro-fit work

This all may sound like difficult work—and it is indeed complex. However, in the hands of experts, the job will go fast and you will soon enjoy the comfort and the savings of a zone control system. Don’t attempt to do this work on your own, nor delegate it to an amateur who makes claims about performing the installation “cheap.” The work will be cheap… just not in the way you want.

We have years of experience doing this work, and we have all the necessary equipment on hand to take care of it quickly and effectively.

Call Climate Masters to find out how we can fit your current HVAC system to deliver zone air conditioning to your home in St. Augustine, FL.

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What Does the ENERGY STAR Sticker Mean?

Friday, May 23rd, 2014

When you are looking for an air conditioning replacement in St. Augustine, FL to prepare for another heavy Florida summer, you will come across a slew of statistics, brand names, types, and sizes that may start to feel overwhelming. Among all this data, you will also spy a sticker on many air conditioning units: a blue background with a white five-pointed star and the capital letters (always capital) ENERGY STAR. This looks important… but what does it mean?

If you have a professional installer working with you (and you should), he or she will help you understand the complexities of air conditioner models to find the right one for your home. The ENERGY STAR label will play a part of this, and chances are high that you’ll end up with a system with this sticker on it. We’ll explain why.

If the installer at your side is from Climate Masters, you can rest easy that you are receiving experienced and qualified service from one of the best heating and cooling contractors in St. Johns County.

The ENERGY STAR program

The ENERGY STAR label indicates that an appliance meets the standards set by the ENERGY STAR program. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under the authority of the Clean Air Act, established ENERGY STAR as a voluntary program in 1992 to help homes and businesses save money with energy-efficient appliances and protect the environment from damaging emissions. Manufacturers of appliances can choose to submit their product to the scrutiny of the program. If an appliance meets a set of regulations for energy efficiency and low negative environmental impact, it receives the label as a sign of approval.

The regulations differ depending on the appliance. With air conditioners, a system must have non-proprietary technology to achieve its efficiency (i.e., no single company can have a monopoly on energy efficiency), contain features that customers in general demand, and return on investment on its installation after only a few years if it costs more than a non-qualifying system.

A very specific AC requirement for the ENERGY STAR label is its minimum SEER. This is an energy-efficiency rating, and the higher the number, the less electricity the air conditioner wastes as it cools. To meet the ENERGY STAR program requirements, an air conditioner must have at least 14.5 SEER, easily verifiable through testing.

If you see the ENERGY STAR label on an air conditioner, you can feel confident that it is a safe, beneficial, and non-wasteful unit that will save money for you… provided it’s actually the right unit for your home. This is why you need to have professional assistance, since the ENERGY STAR label isn’t the only important criteria. Let the technician guide you toward the AC that will combine efficiency, environmental friendliness, and effective cooling.

Call our experts in air conditioning replacement in St. Augustine, FL today to get started with an excellent new AC installation for the summer.

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Stages of Ductless Air Conditioning Installation

Friday, May 16th, 2014

Ductless mini split heat pumps are becoming an increasingly popular option for home comfort. Because they work without the need for space-consuming ventilation shafts, they permit greater freedom for new construction. They also offer an alternative to inefficient window air conditioning units for older homes that lack ductwork. Since they are heat pumps, they work ideally as air conditioners during the summer and effectively as heaters during the winter.

The work installing a ductless mini split is not as difficult as you might imagine, but it still is a task that should remain in the hands of trained professionals. The stages below are not meant as a guide to help you install ductless air conditioning in St. Augustine, FL (it would require many pages to give you the ability to perform even a poor job) but to give you a sense of the sort of work involved. Rely on experienced professionals for this job: call Climate Masters, where we’ve installed air conditioning of all types since 1988.

Ductless mini split heat pump installation stages

  • First: The installers place wall mounts for the individual blowers in rooms throughout the house, and drill holes through the wall to the outside.
  • Second: The blower units are placed and secured to the mounts, and the installers run lines from blower for electrical power, condensate drainage, and refrigeration circulation. The installers take special caution to make sure there are no leaks that might get between the back of the blower and the wall.
  • Third: The outdoor condenser/evaporator unit is secured in place, and the lines from the blowers are hooked up to it. The technicians make certain that there are no loose connections or breaks in the line through a series of leak checks.
  • Fourth: The outdoor unit is connected to the home’s electrical power.
  • Fifth: The installers perform a full-system check to see that the heat pump works and is matched correctly to the voltage of the home, and that it works in both heating and cooling modes. They will not consider the job finished until they are certain that the new ductless system lives up to your expectations.

We handle all the stages of the life of a ductless system, from planning the installation to yearly maintenance to repairs.

Installing ductless air conditioning in St. Augustine, FL may be the best comfort solution for your home. To find out more, call Climate Masters today and speak to one of our ductless AC specialists.

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Advantages of Replacing Your Old HVAC System with a Heat Pump

Friday, May 9th, 2014

A Florida summer is nothing to take lightly: you never want to head into one with a faulty, decrepit air conditioner about to sputter its last at any moment. If you have an air conditioning system that matches that description, or if it has already exceeded its manufacturer’s estimated lifespan, then you should grab these tapering weeks of spring to schedule a new installation.

However, you do not need to install another air conditioner. You have another option: a heat pump. There are some major advantages to opting for heat pump installation in St. Augustine, FL rather than a standard air conditioner.

Call Climate Masters today to talk to one of our trained HVAC installers abut heat pumps vs. air conditioners. Your home may be ideal for a heat pump, and if it is, you should let our experienced technicians handle the job of installing it for you before the summer arrives.

The heat pump advantage

The #1 benefit of having a heat pump in your home is that it solves two problems at once. A heat pump is both an air conditioning system and a heating system. It isn’t a packaged unit with a separate AC and heater put together; a heat pump uses the same action—moving heat from one location to another—to deliver heating and cooling. When you have a heat pump installed, you won’t need to have a furnace or boiler installed as well.

When it comes to heating, Florida is well-suited to take full advantage of a heat pump. Locations that experience cold climates can pose trouble for heat pumps, since they will struggle to remove sufficient heat from the outdoor air to move indoors. However, Florida rarely experiences low temperatures that could make the heat pump’s job difficult.

You’ll save money on your heating bills with a heat pump working for you. Because heat pumps do not burn energy to create heat, instead using a smaller amount of electricity to move heat from one place to another, they are more energy-friendly than furnaces or boilers. A family of four can save 30% off their energy bills with the switch from a furnace to a heat pump.

As far as their air conditioning power, heat pumps are the equal of any standalone AC of comparable size. You won’t sacrifice any comfort for the summer when you replace your current system with a heat pump, and you’ll also have your heating covered as well.

Find out if a heat pump is the best choice

A heat pump isn’t ideal for every home, since there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” HVAC system.

You can contact Climate Masters today to find out if you have one of those homes. Let us take care of you this summer with quality heat pump installation in St. Augustine, FL.

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Common Problems Faced by Commercial Air Conditioning

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

The operation of a commercial air conditioning system is not much different from the systems found inside homes: they use circulating refrigerant, compressors, evaporator and condenser coils, fans, and ductwork. But commercial systems are not only bigger than residential ones, they also undergo a greater amount of work and stress in order to cool down significantly larger spaces and numerous people. This level of continual strain on the system—especially during a heavy and humid Florida summer—will eventually lead to repair issues, no matter how well the system is maintained.

These repairs need commercial HVAC specialists who not only know how to repair the problems of an extensive commercial air conditioner, but also know the local codes that your business must meet. Our team at Climate Masters handles commercial air conditioning in St. Augustine, FL. You can reach them 24 hours a day for the repair service necessary to cool your workplace down and restore comfort to your employees, customers, and clients.

Some problems commercial ACs encounter

  • Zone thermostat errors: Most commercial air conditioning systems are zone systems, where multiple thermostats control different zones inside a workplace. Depending on the size of your business’s workspace, you may have only one or two zones, or you could have more than twenty. A malfunction in any one of the local thermostats will cause uneven heating and a difficult situation to diagnose. Commercial HVAC experts can solve the problem and find out whether you need thermostat work or some other targeted repair.
  • Condenser damage: The most popular type of commercial AC is the rooftop package unit. Having the condenser on the roof saves space, but it exposes the condenser to the elements. If debris enters the condenser unit, it can damage the face, dirty the coils, and spread dust and dirt over the motors—all of which can cause problems with performance or eventually a breakdown. Leave the investigation of rooftop units to professionals.
  • Loss of refrigerant: An enormous amount of refrigerant must course through the lines of a commercial AC system for it to work, and there are numerous places where leaks can occur to allow the refrigerant to escape. Refrigerant loss will not only threaten performance level, it can lead to irreparable damage to the compressor. Commercial specialists will know how to track down the leak locations, seal them, and then recharge the refrigerant to its proper level. Look out for a loss of cooling power as a sign the refrigerant charge is dropping and call for repair technicians immediately.

Neither homeowners nor business owners should delay when it comes to scheduling AC repairs… but the business owner has far more to lose from only an hour of a malfunctioning air conditioning system.

Whenever your company’s comfort is at risk, call Climate Masters for commercial air conditioning in St. Augustine, FL that will resolve the problem.

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