Monday, August 17, 2015

Reduce Humidity In Your Home

Carrier AC Removes Humdity
Humidity In the Great Lakes Area
As the Great Lakes area approaches the final stretch of the summer months, humidity can be

Carrier Infinity Series Air Conditioning
Carrier AC System Reduces Humidity
unbearable at times. In order to alleviate this, Air Conditioning systems in Michigan and Ohio can help to remove the humidity from the air.


In a prior post titled AC Systems in Michigan and Northern Ohio, we discussed the history of Air Conditioning Systems and how they worked. This post talked about how Willis Carrier designed a way to reduce humidity in a paper producing facility in New York. The paper would stick together, and applying ink proved to be more difficult in the humid summer air. Carrier blew the cold air in the factory across chilled pipes. Cold air does not carry as much moisture as warm air. In addition to lowering the humidity, Carrier had also lowered the temperature in the building. Upon this realization, central air conditioning was born. Still until this day, central air conditioning not only lowers the temperature in a building, namely your home, but it lowers the humidity as well!

Most modern air conditioning systems  are able to regulate the humidity in the air inside of your home. These systems have an evaporator coil, a component which condenses water vapor from the air. The process is very similar to condensation that forms on the outside of a glass containing a cold beverage. Carrier’s central air conditioner works by  forcing a liquid refrigerant  to evaporate and condense into a gas inside a sealed system of coils, known as evaporator coils. When the hot air flows over the cold, low-pressure evaporator coils, the heat is absorbed by the refrigerant inside as it changes from a liquid to gas. The gas is then under high pressure, or compressed. Excess heat from this process is then evacuated to the outdoors with a second set of coils called condenser coils. The moisture is then sent to a drain outside of the home. More information is available at this location.

Great Lakes Home Comfort has a vast network of qualified and certified Carrier Dealers that can help you reduce the humidity in your home. Click here to find a dealer nearest you. Also, be sure to check out Greatlakeshomecomfort.com to keep up to date on all your heating and cooling needs. 

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Money-Saving Maintenance Tips for your Toledo Air Conditioner

Money-Saving Maintenance Tips for your Toledo Air Conditioner 
Carrier Infinity 24VNA Unit

A quality air conditioner is designed to last for years and provide you and your family with optimal comfort. With just a few basic maintenance tips, you can keep your central ac system running at optimal efficiency for many years. Air Conditioners can loose efficiency over time if not properly maintenance. Especially when battling the extreme weather conditions in the Toledo are. Don't worry though! It's not difficult and not expensive to perform basic maintenance!

Below are a few tips which can help you save money on cooling costs, and can provide maximum efficiency out of your Air Conditioner.

Change your air filters regularly.
A clogged filter makes your system work harder, as airflow can become restricted. If you begin to see a sudden rise in cooling costs, it may be due to a clogged filter.

Make Sure vents are not blocked
Be sure not to block your vents on your walls, floors or ceilings. This can restrict airflow- which will make efficiency and lifespan of the unit suffer. Be sure to keep this area clear.

Keep the Air Conditioner free of debris
Check your outside condensing (air conditioning) unit periodically to make sure it is not' covered or clogged with leaves and debris. Keeping the area clear ensures maximum airflow, and it prevents the fan from becoming clogged. See our post that talks about how to clean your Air Conditioner!

Keep drainage system clear
Check the drainage system to make sure it isn't clogged. Remember, an air conditioner removes water from the air in your home when it is hot and humid. You should notice water trickling from the condensate drain of the unit.

Considered having your air ducts sealed or insulated
This ensures optimal airflow and prevents leaks.

To learn more about how to save money, and find out how a great Carrier Air Conditioner can help keep you and your family comfortable, visit Great Lakes Home Comfort to learn more. We have a robust network of certified and experienced Carrier Dealers that can help!

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Summer Air Conditioning Tips To Save you Money!


Michigan and Ohio have beautiful, amazing summers filled with warm beaches, breathtaking shorelines, and fun with family and friends. But in the midst of all this warm weather, the surrounding Great Lakes can make the hot weather very humid. In this humidity, many take to turning on the air conditioner. We're going to talk about a few ways to keep you and your family comfortable, but also saving money on your energy bill.
Carrier CÔR Thermostat
Carrier CÔR Wi-Fi® Thermostat
 
One of the best things you can do to save money on air conditioning cost is to turn the thermostat up at night and when you are not home. This will help to ensure that the central ac system is not running while you are not home.  Programmable thermostats like the Carrier CÔR Thermostat are ideal because you can "set-it-and-forget it." to achieve savings. 


Another tip is to be sure to make sure that your filter for your air conditioner is clean. If it is dirty, visit your local Carrier Dealer here or go to Great Lakes Home Comfort to learn more.

In addition to a clean air filter, it is important to make sure that the air conditioner itself is clean. Keeping the outside condenser coils ( the outside coils on the air conditioner)  can be cleaned easily. To do so, be sure to get a garden hose, a set of safety goggles, and gloves. Shut off the power at your circuit breaker panel. Adjust the hose to a mist-like spray and gently rinse off any dirt, dust, and grime from the outside! It's that simple! and it can save you money!

In addition to these tips and tricks, planting leafy trees near windows can help to limit the amount and concentration of sunlight that shines into the home. This will reduce heat, and as such, reduce the need to have the Air Conditioner running all the time.

Finally, if your air conditioner is outdated, you can best increase savings by contacting an experience Carrier dealer. You can find one a dealer closest you by vising our dealer network here. Great Lakes Home Comfort is proud to help provide you with information for your Air Conditioner in Detroit, Toledo, Michigan and Ohio air conditioner system.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Ductless AC Systems in Michigan and Ohio

Ductless Systems are a great way to heat part or all of your home with minimum equipment expense to you. Additionally, ductless units have a low cost of ownership as there is no duct work to maintain.
Carrier Ductless, Ductless UnitDuctless systems are designed to be installed into a room with minimal effort. As their name implies, they use no duct work to provide heating and cooling to a room, or series of rooms.

The Carrier Ductless system uses an inverter technology, which allows the device to operate at variable speeds and various outputs. This allows the device to utilize only the energy needed to reach the desired temperature on the thermostat.This provides less energy usage, greater efficiency, and increased savings on utility expenses.

An example of the ductless product is the Toshiba-Carrier RAS Model. This model has a temperature range of almost 30 degrees, and operates at nearly whisper quiet 26 decibels. Regardless of the model, ductless systems are perfect for any space in a home and they allow for gaining a bit more control over the temperature in certain areas of your home, and are definitely the way to go if you're on a budget. Also home-based businesses can benefit from Ductless AC Systems.These units are also quiet. How quiet? the average whisper from approx. six feet away typically generates about 30 decibels of sound. This unit operates at only 26 decibels- literally making it more quiet than a whisper!

Ductless AC Systems can be placed into any space- Garages, bedrooms, sun decks, anywhere. Great Lakes Home Comfort has all the information you need about Ductless AC Systems. To learn more, follow this link here.

Additionally, Great Lakes Home Comfort has a network of certified, trained, and experienced technicians and mechanical contractors to help you and your family select the right size Ductless unit for your needs. Find your Carrier Dealer here.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Understanding Air Conditioner Rating

When Willis Carrier Invented Modern Air Conditioning in 1902, it changed the way we live. In the wake of the creation of this modern marvel, we have often wondered why Air Conditioning units are measured in tons. Today, we will explore why AC units are rated this way.

Carrier VNA9
Prior to Willis Carrier's invention of modern air conditioning, buildings were cooled in the summertime with large blocks of ice processed from the winter. Typically, a ton of ice would take 286,000 BTU's to melt completely. A BTU, or British Thermal Unit is the amount of energy needed to cool or heat one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. If we look at this in a 24-hour period, 286,000 BTU/24 Hr. = 11,917 BTU/hr. In the heating and cooling industry, that number is rounded up to 12,000 BTU/hr. 

So, if we look at the Carrier Infinity 24VNA9 air conditioner, the number 24 indicates that this model is capable of 24,000 BTU's. So we divide 24,000 BTU's by 2 to get 12,000 BTU's. This indicates that the 24VNA9 is a 2-ton unit. 

SEER Rating is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, is the cooling output in a a nominal cooling season, divided by the total electric energy used in the same period. In other words, it is the BTU output per cooling season divided by the kW used to create this cooling. 

The Higher a units SEER rating, the more efficient the unit. For example, The Carrier 24VNA9 has a SEER Rating of 19 SEER. By Contrast, the Carrier 24ANB1 system has up to 21 SEER, being even more efficient. 

Great Lakes Home Comfort can help you to find a reputable, certified and trained dealer for your central air conditioner in Michigan and Northern Ohio. Find out more about central air conditioning here