How Air Conditioners Work The first modern air conditioning system was developed in 1902 by a young electrical engineer named Willis Haviland Carrier. It was designed to solve a humidity problem at the Sackett-Wilhelms Lithographing and Publishing Company in Brooklyn, N.Y. Paper stock at the plant would sometimes absorb moisture from the warm summer air, making it difficult to apply the layered inking techniques of the time. Carrier treated the air inside the building by blowing it across chilled pipes. The air cooled as it passed across the cold pipes, and since cool air can't carry as much moisture as warm air, the process reduced the humidity in the plant and stabilized the moisture content of the paper. Reducing the humidity also had the side benefit of lowering the air temperature -- and a new technology was born. Carrier realized he'd developed something with far-reaching potential, and it wasn't long before air-conditioning systems started popping up in theaters and stores, making the long, hot summer months much more comfortable [source: Time].

The actual process air conditioners use to reduce the ambient air temperature in a room is based on a very simple scientific principle. The rest is achieved with the application of a few clever mechanical techniques. Actually, an air conditioner is very similar to another appliance in your home -- the refrigerator. Air conditioners don't have the exterior housing a refrigerator relies on to insulate its cold box. Instead, the walls in your home keep cold air in and hot air out. Let's move on to the next page where we'll discover what happens to all that hot air when you use your air conditioner.MADISON COUNTY, Ala. - With all this heat, just about everybody's air conditioning has been getting a workout. To ensure that you're not basically throwing money out the window, Brian Smith said you need to make sure that your home is efficient. "We want to keep what we're paying for in our house," he said. Smith is a certified energy auditor with Thomas HVAC and he performs Home Performance Audits on a regular basis.

A Home Performance Audit focuses on improving your home's indoor air quality, comfort and safety, while also reducing your home's energy use. It keys in on the measures that help to keep heated and cooled air inside the house, such as sealing, insulation and ventilation. "It's preventative maintenance," Smith said.how to clean drain pipe from ac unit The company uses a blower door test and infrared technologies to identify all the areas of your home that can be improved in order to create optimal living experiences, reduce energy consumption, minimize health and safety risks in the home, and have the home performing at its highest level.plastic ac unit base "We're going to go and find where the house is leaking," he said. ac with two indoor units

"That's the goal is to find where the unwanted air is coming into your house and that's the same place that the air you're paying for is leaving the house." Customers are then provided with a priority list of how to remedy the issues. To schedule an appointment with Thomas HVAC for a Home Performance Audit, call (256) 858-4822 or click here. Save up to 20% on your heating and cooling costs with a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) unit. Heating and cooling accounts for approximately 45% of the energy used in your home. That means your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment begins to cost you money and affect your home’s comfort if it’s: Before considering a new HVAC unit, make sure you first focus on sealing all ducts and any other places where heated or cooled air escapes. When you take care of leaks in your home and add insulation, you’ll potentially need a smaller HVAC unit. The smaller the unit, the more money you save on the up-front cost of your new system—and the lower your monthly energy bills will be.

Your HVAC unit receives efficiency ratings depending on the quality of the heat pump and the air conditioner. Our professional QCN members will offer solutions tailored to your home. They evaluate your current HVAC system, ducts and other factors that may affect the type of system that saves you the most energy and money. While our QCN members cover a rigorous checklist of items when they perform the inspection, some basic advice to keep in mind includes: To keep your HVAC unit at top energy efficiency, follow these tips.BeCool HVAC system generates clean energy while keeping buildings cool under clean tech, Green Technology, News Most air conditioning units are energy hogs that can send an electric bill sky high, often leading people to limit their use. A new device called BeCool cools (or heats) the air while charging up a fuel cell at the same time, could transform the whole approach to indoor climate control by generating electricity rather than just sucking it up.

The invention comes from Be Power Tech, a startup based in Florida, where air conditioning is not just a luxury, but also a lifesaver. Instead of plugging into the grid for its power source, Be Power Tech’s BeCool commercial HVAC unit runs on natural gas. Where the individual unit is considered, the result is a more energy efficient air conditioning system. If more people relied on natural gas-based air conditioners, some of the strain on the power grid would be alleviated during peak times of usage, such as during a heat wave or simply at that point in mid-afternoon when the day’s heat reaches its apex. Related: Infographic shows surprising trends in summer energy usage across the United States The BeCool system is a roof-mounted unit that directly replaces standard 10-ton air conditioning systems, and the company will begin field trials on commercial units in 2017, expecting to hit the market the following year. The system relies on evaporative cooling technology developed at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and licensed by the Florida company exclusively.