Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Residential
Air conditioning is the removal of heat from indoor air for thermal comfort. In another sense, the term can refer to any form of cooling, heating, ventilation, or disinfection that modifies the condition of air. An air conditioner (often referred to as AC or air con.) is an appliance, system, or machine designed to stabilize the air temperature and humidity within an area (used for cooling as well as heating depending on the air properties at a given time), typically using a refrigeration cycle but sometimes using evaporation, commonly for comfort cooling in buildings and motor vehicles.
The concept of air conditioning is known to have been applied in Ancient Rome, where aqueduct water was circulated through the walls of certain houses to cool them. Similar techniques in medieval Persia involved the use of cisterns and wind towers to cool buildings during the hot season. Modern air conditioning emerged from advances in chemistry during the 19th century, and the first large-scale electrical air conditioning was invented and used in 1902 by Willis Haviland Carrier. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Residentialialntial
The 2nd century Chinese inventor Ding Huane of the Han Dynasty invented a rotary fan for air conditioning, with seven wheels 3 m (9.8 ft) in diameter and manually powered. In 747, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (618–907) had the Cool Hall (Liang Tian) built in the imperial palace, which the Tang Yulin describes as having water-powered fan wheels for air conditioning as well as rising jet streams of water from fountains. During the subsequent Song Dynasty (960–1279), written sources mentioned the air conditioning rotary fan as even more widely used.
In 1758, Benjamin Franklin and John Hadley, a chemistry professor at Cambridge University, conducted an experiment to explore the principle of evaporation as a means to rapidly cool an object. Franklin and Hadley confirmed that evaporation of highly volatile liquids such as alcohol and ether could be used to drive down the temperature of an object past the freezing point of water. They conducted their experiment with the bulb of a mercury thermometer as their object and with a bellows used to "quicken" the evaporation; they lowered the temperature of the thermometer bulb down to 7°F while the ambient temperature was 65°F. Franklin noted that soon after they passed the freezing point of water (32°F) a thin film of ice formed on the surface of the thermometer's bulb and that the ice mass was about a quarter inch thick when they stopped the experiment upon reaching 7°F. Franklin concluded, "From this experiment, one may see the possibility of freezing a man to death on a warm summer's day". Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Residential
In 1820, British scientist and inventor Michael Faraday discovered that compressing and liquefying ammonia could chill air when the liquefied ammonia was allowed to evaporate. In 1842, Florida physician John Gorrie used compressor technology to create ice, which he used to cool air for his patients in his hospital in Apalachicola, Florida. He hoped eventually to use his ice-making machine to regulate the temperature of buildings. He even envisioned centralized air conditioning that could cool entire cities. Though his prototype leaked and performed irregularly, Gorrie was granted a patent in 1851 for his ice-making machine. His hopes for its success vanished soon afterwards when his chief financial backer died; Gorrie did not get the money he needed to develop the machine. According to his biographer, Vivian M. Sherlock, he blamed the "Ice King", Frederic Tudor, for his failure, suspecting that Tudor had launched a smear campaign against his invention. Dr. Gorrie died impoverished in 1855 and the idea of air conditioning faded away for 50 years.
In 1902, the first modern electrical air conditioning unit was invented by Willis Haviland Carrier in Buffalo, New York. After graduating from Cornell University, Carrier, a native of Angola, New York, found a job at the Buffalo Forge Company. While there, Carrier began experimentation with air conditioning as a way to solve an application problem for the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, New York, and the first "air conditioner," designed and built in Buffalo by Carrier, began working on 17 July 1902. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Residential
Designed to improve manufacturing process control in a printing plant, Carrier's invention controlled not only temperature but also humidity. Carrier used his knowledge of the heating of objects with steam and reversed the process. Instead of sending air through hot coils, he sent it through cold coils (ones filled with cold water). The air blowing over the cold coils cooled the air, and one could thereby control the amount of moisture the colder air could hold. In turn, the humidity in the room could be controlled. The low heat and humidity were to help maintain consistent paper dimensions and ink alignment. Later, Carrier's technology was applied to increase productivity in the workplace, and The Carrier Air Conditioning Company of America was formed to meet rising demand. Over time, air conditioning came to be used to improve comfort in homes and automobiles as well. Residential sales expanded dramatically in the 1950s.
In 1906, Stuart W. Cramer of Charlotte, North Carolina was exploring ways to add moisture to the air in his textile mill. Cramer coined the term "air conditioning", using it in a patent claim he filed that year as an analogue to "water conditioning", then a well-known process for making textiles easier to process. He combined moisture with ventilation to "condition" and change the air in the factories, controlling the humidity so necessary in textile plants. Willis Carrier adopted the term and incorporated it into the name of his company. This evaporation of water in air, to provide a cooling effect, is now known as evaporative cooling. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Residential
The first air conditioners and refrigerators employed toxic or flammable gases, such as ammonia, methyl chloride, and propane that could result in fatal accidents when they leaked. Thomas Midgley, Jr. created the first chlorofluorocarbon gas, Freon, in 1928.
Freon is a trademark name owned by DuPont for any Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), Hydrogenated CFC (HCFC), or Hydro fluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerant, the name of each including a number indicating molecular composition (R-11, R-12, R-22, R-134A). The blend most used in direct-expansion home and building comfort cooling is an HCFC known as R-22. It is to be phased out for use in new equipment by 2010 and completely discontinued by 2020. R-12 was the most common blend used in automobiles in the US until 1994 when most changed to R-134A. R-11 and R-12 are no longer manufactured in the US for this type of application, the only source for air conditioning purchase being the cleaned and purified gas recovered from other air conditioner systems. Several non-ozone depleting refrigerants have been developed as alternatives, including R-410A, invented by Honeywell (formerly AlliedSignal) in Buffalo, and sold under the Genetron (R) AZ-20 name. It was first commercially used by Carrier under the brand name Puron. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Residential
Innovation in air conditioning technologies continues, with much recent emphasis placed on energy efficiency, and on improving indoor air quality. Reducing climate change impact is an important area of innovation, because in addition to greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy use, CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs are, themselves, potent greenhouse gases when leaked to the atmosphere. For example, R-22 (also known as HCFC-22) has a global warming potential about 1,800 times higher than CO2. As an alternative to conventional refrigerants, natural alternatives like CO2 (R-744) have been proposed.
Air conditioning engineers broadly divide air conditioning applications into comfort and process.
Comfort applications aim to provide a building indoor environment that remains relatively constant in a range preferred by humans despite changes in external weather conditions or in internal heat loads. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Residential
Air conditioning makes deep plan buildings feasible, for otherwise they'd have to be built narrower or with light wells so that inner spaces receive sufficient outdoor air via natural ventilation. Air conditioning also allows buildings to be taller since wind speed increases significantly with altitude making natural ventilation impractical for very tall buildings. Comfort applications for various building types are quite different and may be categorized as Low-Rise Residential buildings, including single family houses, duplexes, and small apartment buildings, High-Rise Residential buildings, such as tall dormitories and apartment blocks, Commercial buildings, which are built for commerce, including offices, malls, shopping centers, restaurants, etc., Institutional buildings, which includes hospitals, governmental, academic, and so on, Industrial spaces where thermal comfort of workers is desired and Sports Stadiums - recently, stadiums have been built with air conditioning to allow competition to take place in summer, such as University of Phoenix Stadium and in Qatar for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In addition to buildings, air conditioning can be used for many types of transportation — motor-cars and other land vehicles, trains, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft.
Process applications aim to provide a suitable environment for a process being carried out, regardless of internal heat and humidity loads and external weather conditions. Although often in the comfort range, it is the needs of the process that determine conditions, not human preference. Process applications include these are hospital operating theatres, in which air is filtered to high levels to reduce infection risk and the humidity controlled to limit patient dehydration. Although temperatures are often in the comfort range, some specialist procedures such as open heart surgery require low temperatures (about 18 °C, 64 °F) and others such as neonatal relatively high temperatures (about 28 °C, 82 °F), clean rooms for the production of integrated circuits, pharmaceuticals, and the like, in which very high levels of air cleanliness and control of temperature and humidity are required for the success of the process, facilities for breeding laboratory animals. Since many animals normally only reproduce in spring, holding them in rooms at which conditions mirror spring all year can cause them to reproduce year-round and the aircraft air conditioning. Although nominally aimed at providing comfort for passengers and cooling of equipment, aircraft air conditioning presents a special challenge because of the changing density associated with changes in altitude, humidity and temperature of the outside air Other areas that use this type of air conditioning are data centers, textile factories, physical testing facilities, plants and farm growing areas, nuclear facilities, Chemical and biological laboratories, mines, industrial environments and food cooking and processing areas. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale: Humidity Control
Refrigeration air conditioning equipment usually reduces the humidity of the air processed by the system. The relatively cold (below the dew point) evaporator coil condenses water vapor from the processed air, (much like an ice-cold drink will condense water on the outside of a glass), sending the water to a drain and removing water vapor from the cooled space and lowering the relative humidity. Since humans perspire to provide natural cooling by the evaporation of perspiration from the skin, drier air (up to a point) improves the comfort provided. The comfort air conditioner is designed to create a 40% to 60% relative humidity in the occupied space. In food retailing establishments, large open chiller cabinets act as highly effective air dehumidifying units.
A specific type of air conditioner that is used only for dehumidifying is called a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier is different from a regular air conditioner in that both the evaporator and condenser coils are placed in the same air path, and the entire unit is placed in the environment that is intended to be conditioned (in this case dehumidified), rather than requiring the condenser coil to be outdoors. Having the condenser coil in the same air path as the evaporator coil produces warm, dehumidified air. The evaporator (cold) coil is placed first in the air path, dehumidifying the air exactly as a regular air conditioner does. The air next passes over the condenser coil re-warming the now dehumidified air. Note that the terms "condenser coil" and "evaporator coil" do not refer to the behavior of water in the air as it passes over each coil; instead they refer to the phases of the refrigeration cycle. Having the condenser coil in the main air path rather than in a separate, outdoor air path (as in a regular air conditioner) results in two consequences—the output air is warm rather than cold, and the unit is able to be placed anywhere in the environment to be conditioned, without a need to have the condenser outdoors. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Humidity Control
Unlike a regular air conditioner, a dehumidifier will actually heat a room just as an electric heater that draws the same amount of power (watts) as the dehumidifier. A regular air conditioner transfers energy out of the room by means of the condenser coil, which is outside the room (outdoors). This is a thermodynamic system where the room serves as the system and energy is transferred out of the system. Conversely with a dehumidifier, no energy is transferred out of the thermodynamic system (room) because the air conditioning unit (dehumidifier) is entirely inside the room. Therefore all of the power consumed by the dehumidifier is energy that is input into the thermodynamic system (the room), and remains in the room (as heat). In addition, if the condensed water has been removed from the room, the amount of heat needed to boil that water has been added to the room. This is the inverse of adding water to the room with an evaporative cooler.
Dehumidifiers are commonly used in cold, damp climates to prevent mold growth indoors, especially in basements. They are also sometimes used in hot, humid climates for comfort because they reduce the humidity which causes discomfort (just as a regular air conditioner, but without cooling the room). They are also used to protect sensitive equipment from the adverse effects of excessive humidity in tropical countries. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Humidity Control
The engineering of physical and thermodynamic properties of gas-vapor mixtures is named Psychrometrics.
Air-conditioning system can promote the growth and spread of microorganisms, such as Legionella pneumophila, the infectious agent responsible for Legionnaires' disease, or hemophilic actinomycetes, but as long as the air conditioner is kept clean these health hazards can be avoided. Conversely, air conditioning, including filtration, humidification, cooling, disinfection, etc., can be used to provide a clean, safe, hypoallergenic atmosphere in hospital operating rooms and other environments where an appropriate atmosphere is critical to patient safety and well-being. Air conditioning can have a positive effect on sufferers of allergies and asthma.
In serious heat waves, air conditioning can save the lives of the elderly. Some local authorities have even set up public cooling centers for people without home air conditioning. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Humidity Control
In a thermodynamically closed system, any energy input into the system that is being maintained at a set temperature (which is a standard mode of operation for modern air conditioners) requires that the energy removal rate from the air conditioner increases. This increase has the effect that for each unit of energy input into the system (say to power a light bulb in the closed system) this requires the air conditioner to remove that energy. In order to do that the air conditioner must increase its consumption by the inverse of its efficiency times the input of energy. As an example, presume that inside the closed system a 100 watt light bulb is activated, and the air conditioner has an efficiency of 200%. The air conditioner's energy consumption will increase by 50 W to compensate for this, thus making the 100 W lightbulb use a total of 150 W of energy.
It is typical for air conditioners to operate at "efficiencies" of significantly greater than 100%. However it may be noted that the input (electrical) energy is of higher thermodynamic quality than the output which is basically thermal energy (heat dissipated), See Coefficient of performance. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
Ducts are used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to deliver and remove air. These needed airflows which include supply air, return air, and exhaust air. Ducts also deliver, most commonly as part of the supply air, ventilation air. As such, air ducts are one method of ensuring acceptable indoor air quality as well as thermal comfort.
A duct system is often called ductwork. Planning ('laying out'), sizing, optimizing, detailing, and finding the pressure losses through a duct system is called duct design. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
Ducts can be made out of galvanized mild steel which is the standard and most common material used in fabricating ductwork.
Polyurethane and Phenol insulation panels (pre-insulated air ducts) is traditionally air ductwork that is made of sheet metal which is installed first and then lagged with insulation as a secondary operation. Ductwork manufactured from rigid insulation panels does not need any further insulation and is installed in a single fix. Light weight and installation speed are among the features of reinsulated aluminum ductwork, also custom or special shapes of ducts can be easily fabricated in the shop or on site. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
The ductwork construction starts with the tracing of the duct outline onto the aluminum reinsulated panel, then the parts are typically cut at 45 degree, bent if required to obtain the different fittings (i.e. elbows, tapers) and finally assembled with glue. Aluminum tape is applied to all seams where the external surface of the aluminum foil has been cut. A variety of flanges are available to suit various installation requirements. All internal joints are sealed with sealant.
Among the various types of rigid polyurethane foam panels available, a new water formulated panel stands out. In this particular panel, the foaming process is obtained through the use of water instead of the CFC, HCFC, HFC and HC gasses. And most manufacturers of rigid polyurethane foam panels use normal pentane as foaming agent instead of the CFC, HCFC, HFC and HC gasses, so do manufacturers of rigid phenolic foam panels. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
A rigid phenolic insulation ductwork system is available and complies with the UL 181 standard for class 1 air ductwork.
Both polyurethane foam panels and phenolic foam panels are then coated with aluminum sheets on both sides, with outside aluminum thicknesses that can vary from 80 micrometers’ for indoor use to 200 micrometers for external use or high air pressure in order to guarantee the high mechanical characteristics of the duct, or then coated with aluminum sheets on inside, and coated with 200 micrometers sheet metal or pre-painted sheet metal on outside.
Fiberglass duct board (reinsulated non metallic ductwork) panels provide built-in thermal insulation and the interior surface absorbs sound, helping to provide quiet operation of the HVAC system. The duct board is formed by sliding a specially-designed knife along the board using a straightedge as a guide; the knife automatically trims out a "valley" with 45° sides; the valley does not quite penetrate the entire depth of the duct board, providing a thin section that acts as a hinge. The duct board can then be folded along the valleys to produce 90° folds, making the rectangular duct shape in the fabricator's desired size. The duct is then closed with staples and special aluminum or similar 'metal-backed' tape. Commonly available duct tape should not be used on air ducts, metal, fiberglass, or otherwise, that are intended for long-term use; the adhesive on so called 'duct tape' dries and releases with time. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
Flexible ducts, known as flex, have a variety of configurations, but for HVAC applications, they are typically flexible plastic over a metal wire coil to make round, flexible duct. In the United States, the insulation is usually glass wool, but other markets such as Australia, use both polyester fiber and glass wool for thermal insulation. A protective layer surrounds the insulation, and is usually composed of polyethylene or metalized PET. Flexible duct is very convenient for attaching supply air outlets to the rigid ductwork. However, the pressure loss through flex is higher than for most other types of ducts. As such, designers and installers attempt to keep their installed lengths (runs) short, e.g., less than 15 feet or so, and to minimize turns. Kinks in flex must be avoided. Some flexible duct markets prefer to avoid using flexible duct on the return air portions of HVAC systems, however flexible duct can tolerate moderate negative pressures - the UL181 test requires a negative pressure of 200 Pa.
Fabric ducting, also known as air socks, duct socks or textile ducts, are designed for even air distribution throughout the entire length. Usually made of special polyester material, fabric ducts can provide air to a space more effectively than a conventional exposed duct system.
Fabric duct is a misnomer as "fabric duct" is actually an "air distribution device" and is not intended as a conduit (duct) for conditioned air. However, as it often replaces hard or metal ductwork it is easy to perceive it simply as duct. Fabric air dispersion systems, is the more definitive name. As they may be manufactured with venting or orifices for even air distribution along any length of the system, they commonly will provide a more even distribution and blending of the conditioned air in a given space. As "fabric duct" is used for air distribution, textile ducts are not rated for nor should they be used in ceilings or concealed attic spaces. Applications for fabric duct in raise floor applications; however, are available. Depending on the manufacturer, "fabric duct" is available in standard and custom colors’ with options for silk screening or other forms of appliqués. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
"Fabric duct", depending on the manufacturer, may be available in air permeable (porous) or non-porous fabric. As a benchmark, a designer may make the determination of which fabric is more applicable by asking the question if the application would require insulated metal duct. If metal duct would be insulated in a given application or installation, air permeable fabric would be recommended as it will not commonly create condensation on its surface and can therefore be used where air is to be supplied below the dew point. Again; depending on the material and manufacturer, material that eliminates moisture may also be healthier and may also be provided with an active anti-microbial agent to inhibit bacteria growth. Porous material also tends to require less maintenance as it repeals dust and other airborne contaminants.
The position of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is that "If no one in your household suffers from allergies or unexplained symptoms or illnesses and if, after a visual inspection of the inside of the ducts, you see no indication that your air ducts are contaminated with large deposits of dust or mold (no musty odor or visible mold growth), having your air ducts cleaned is probably unnecessary." Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
Studies by the EPA and the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) in the 1990s has lead CMHC to conclude that "duct cleaning will not usually change the quality of the air you breathe, nor will it significantly affect airflows or heating costs".
When cleaning, you need to sweep and dust your furniture more than usual. After cleaning, there's still left over dust floating around the house that you can see. After or during sleep you experience headaches, nasal congestion, or other sinus problems. Rooms in your house have little or no air flow coming from the vents. You're constantly getting sick or are experience more allergies than usual. When you turn on the furnace or air conditioner there's musty or stale odor. You're experiencing signs of sickness: fatigue, headache, sneezing, stuffy or running nose, and irritability, and nausea, dry or burning sensation in eyes, nose and throat. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Air Conditioning Fort Lauderdale:Duct Work
Duct Sealing is the sealing of leaks in air ducts in order to reduce air leakage, optimize efficiency, and control entry of pollutants into the home or building. Air pressure combined with air duct leakage can lead to a loss of energy in a HVAC system and duct sealing solves issues of energy loss in the system.
Duct tape is not used for sealing ducts. Building codes call for special fire-resistant tapes, often with foil backings and long lasting adhesives.
Signs of leaky or poorly performing air ducts include utility bills in winter and summer months above average relative to rate fluctuation spaces or rooms that are difficult to heat or cool duct location in an attic, attached garage, leaky floor cavity, crawl space or unheated basement. Fort Lauderdale, FL
Review
Air Condition Fort Lauderdale: Duct Cleaning
Tammy J. 12/06/2010
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Air Condition Fort Lauderdale: Installation
Joesph S. 12/04/2010
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Air Condition Fort Lauderdale: Duct Cleaning
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Air Condition Fort Lauderdale: Heating Repair
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Air Condition Fort Lauderdalei: Maintenance
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Air Condition Fort Lauderdale: Repair
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Air Condtion Fort Lauderdale: Duct Cleaning
Jeffery F. 06/05/2010
I own a small apartment building in Miami and I wanted to redo the laundry room because it had been years since it had been done. I crawled into the ceiling to check the duct work and it was filthy and damaged. I was upset to let it get that bad but I did not know so I called a friend that told me about an site that would get me to someone that could help me and boy did it. These guys were professional and cleaned and repaired the duct with minimal damage and dirt. I would use them in my own home and recommend them to friends.
Air Condition Fort Lauderdale: Air Duct Cleaning
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Air Condition Fort Lauderdale: Installation
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