Two-stage air conditioners offer a more efficient, energy-saving way to cool your home. Two-stage cooling means that the air conditioner or heat pump has a compressor with two levels of operation: high for hot summer days and low for milder days. Since the low setting can adequately meet household cooling demands about 80% of the time, a 2-stage unit runs for longer periods and produces more even temperatures.
Longer cooling cycles also translate to quieter, more efficient operation and enhanced humidity control. Compared to a single-stage unit, a 2-stage air conditioner or heat pump can remove twice as much moisture from the air. This is important because when moisture levels are high, there’s a higher potential for mold and other indoor air quality problems.
Two of the most important improvements to modern high-efficiency air conditioners are the 2-stage compressor and multi-speed condenser fan.
During the hottest weather, you may need the full capacity of your air conditioner to keep your home comfortable. During this full-time operation, your air conditioner runs at its maximum efficiency. But during moderate weather your air conditioner will cycle on and off to keep from over-cooling your home. This stop-and-go operation is inherently inefficient, since a lot of energy is wasted during the start-up and shut-down part of each cycle.
Air conditioning units with a 2-stage compressor and a multi-speed outdoor condenser fan operate at lower capacity during moderate weather. This results in cycles that are longer and more efficient. It also allows your system to remove more humidity from the air. When the weather is truly hot, they step up to full-speed operation to ensure your comfort.
Variable-capacity air conditioners are all more efficient than older units, but they work in different ways:
■Some 2-stage systems have two small compressors side-by-side. The first compressor operates alone during moderate weather. The second compressor kicks in only when needed during hot weather.
■The two-piston compressors run in one-piston mode during moderate weather and two-piston mode during hot weather.
■The multi-speed compressors actually turn at two different speeds to match the cooling load.
As A/C units evolve and become more efficient, engineers devise new ways of making them achieve better comfort. Two-stage air conditioners are one such innovation. Variable-speed blowers alter the speed of the blower motor to most efficiently match the output of the air conditioner’s compressor and condenser. This translates into better use of the available amount of cooling, less electricity consumption, and lower energy bills.
You can’t avoid the heat of summer, but with a 2-stage air conditioner you can reduce the cost of cooling your home and gain greater comfort throughout your home. You can learn more about air conditioners at www.energysavers.gov, or check out our demonstration of 2-stage cooling.
Two-stage air conditioners offer a more efficient, energy-saving way to cool your home. Two-stage cooling means that the air conditioner or heat pump has a compressor with two levels of operation: high for hot summer days and low for milder days. Since the low setting can adequately meet household cooling demands about 80% of the time, a 2-stage unit runs for longer periods and produces more even temperatures.
Longer cooling cycles also translate to quieter, more efficient operation and enhanced humidity control. Compared to a single-stage unit, a 2-stage air conditioner or heat pump can remove twice as much moisture from the air. This is important because when moisture levels are high, there’s a higher potential for mold and other indoor air quality problems.
Two of the most important improvements to modern high-efficiency air conditioners are the 2-stage compressor and multi-speed condenser fan.
During the hottest weather, you may need the full capacity of your air conditioner to keep your home comfortable. During this full-time operation, your air conditioner runs at its maximum efficiency. But during moderate weather your air conditioner will cycle on and off to keep from over-cooling your home. This stop-and-go operation is inherently inefficient, since a lot of energy is wasted during the start-up and shut-down part of each cycle.
Air conditioning units with a 2-stage compressor and a multi-speed outdoor condenser fan operate at lower capacity during moderate weather. This results in cycles that are longer and more efficient. It also allows your system to remove more humidity from the air. When the weather is truly hot, they step up to full-speed operation to ensure your comfort.
Variable-capacity air conditioners are all more efficient than older units, but they work in different ways:
■Some 2-stage systems have two small compressors side-by-side. The first compressor operates alone during moderate weather. The second compressor kicks in only when needed during hot weather.
■The two-piston compressors run in one-piston mode during moderate weather and two-piston mode during hot weather.
■The multi-speed compressors actually turn at two different speeds to match the cooling load.
As A/C units evolve and become more efficient, engineers devise new ways of making them achieve better comfort. Two-stage air conditioners are one such innovation. Variable-speed blowers alter the speed of the blower motor to most efficiently match the output of the air conditioner’s compressor and condenser. This translates into better use of the available amount of cooling, less electricity consumption, and lower energy bills.
You can’t avoid the heat of summer, but with a 2-stage air conditioner you can reduce the cost of cooling your home and gain greater comfort throughout your home. You can learn more about air conditioners at www.energysavers.gov.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).For more information about Ventilation and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Indoor Air Quality and Your Business: What You Should Know
Some of our commercial customers ask us what they should do to improve the quality of the indoor air in their businesses. Indoor air quality is one factor that can have a big effect on the health of both employees and visitors to your buildings.
However, diagnosing an indoor air quality problem can be tricky. It isn’t always obvious, and health symptoms are very similar to those of a cold or the flu. Here are some clues that your problem may be more than the common cold.
■Everyone gets sick at the same time.
■Everyone feels better as soon as they leave the premises.
■The onset of the symptoms comes suddenly after a change, like freshly painted walls.
■People feel better outdoors.
■A doctor has identified the symptoms of an indoor air quality-related illness.
If indoor air quality becomes an issue, what can be done? Let’s discuss six practical, low-cost measures that business owners can take to improve the quality of indoor air in their buildings.
1. Eliminate the source. Mold, school bus exhaust, garbage—all of these can be sources of indoor air quality problems. Small things like replacing moldy material, prohibiting cars and work vehicles from idling in or around garages and buildings, and keeping garbage out of rooms with HVAC equipment can do a lot to minimize air pollutants.
2. Exhaust at the source. The source of a pollutant cannot always be eliminated. Installing exhaust systems in employee lounges and kitchens, duplicating rooms, restrooms, and industrial areas can remove pollutants before they spread throughout the building.
3. Ventilate the air. You really need to replace polluted air with cleaner, conditioned outdoor air.
4. Control the exposure. This involves changing either the time or location of exposure to pollutants. If your building has a painting, floor stripping, or waxing project, why not schedule it on a Friday evening, and give the indoor air a full weekend to recover?
5. Clean the air. There are ways to filter particles and gases out of the air as it passes through ventilation equipment. An HVAC technician can help design a system to fit your particular needs.
6. Educate about Indoor Air Quality. Teach your employees about the importance of indoor air quality and some basic steps that they can take to improve it.
Both business owners and their employees make decisions that directly affect their indoor air quality. It’s up to each business to provide proper education about the importance of good, clean air.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website.
However, diagnosing an indoor air quality problem can be tricky. It isn’t always obvious, and health symptoms are very similar to those of a cold or the flu. Here are some clues that your problem may be more than the common cold.
■Everyone gets sick at the same time.
■Everyone feels better as soon as they leave the premises.
■The onset of the symptoms comes suddenly after a change, like freshly painted walls.
■People feel better outdoors.
■A doctor has identified the symptoms of an indoor air quality-related illness.
If indoor air quality becomes an issue, what can be done? Let’s discuss six practical, low-cost measures that business owners can take to improve the quality of indoor air in their buildings.
1. Eliminate the source. Mold, school bus exhaust, garbage—all of these can be sources of indoor air quality problems. Small things like replacing moldy material, prohibiting cars and work vehicles from idling in or around garages and buildings, and keeping garbage out of rooms with HVAC equipment can do a lot to minimize air pollutants.
2. Exhaust at the source. The source of a pollutant cannot always be eliminated. Installing exhaust systems in employee lounges and kitchens, duplicating rooms, restrooms, and industrial areas can remove pollutants before they spread throughout the building.
3. Ventilate the air. You really need to replace polluted air with cleaner, conditioned outdoor air.
4. Control the exposure. This involves changing either the time or location of exposure to pollutants. If your building has a painting, floor stripping, or waxing project, why not schedule it on a Friday evening, and give the indoor air a full weekend to recover?
5. Clean the air. There are ways to filter particles and gases out of the air as it passes through ventilation equipment. An HVAC technician can help design a system to fit your particular needs.
6. Educate about Indoor Air Quality. Teach your employees about the importance of indoor air quality and some basic steps that they can take to improve it.
Both business owners and their employees make decisions that directly affect their indoor air quality. It’s up to each business to provide proper education about the importance of good, clean air.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website.
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