Some time we know what we are going to achieve in this world

It seems every year energy costs go up; so it is important to keep your

energy bills down by increasing your air conditioning units efficiency and
decreasing the need for it. It is easy to test how efficient your air conditioner
is. Simply run your unit for at least fifteen minutes when the outdoor
temperature is above 80 degrees. Then, using an accurate thermometer,
measure the difference in air temperature between the air exiting the supply
ducts closest to the unit and the air drawn into the return ducts. The
temperature difference should be between fifteen to twenty degrees.

If you find that your air conditioning unit is not as efficient as you like,
consider trying some of the following steps that will either make it more
efficient or decrease your homes need for it.

1. Have your air conditioning unit inspected by a service technician. A

technician can check the coolant levels, clean the coils, and check the airflow
over the cooling coils, three things that can reduce your units efficiency by
up to forty percent.

2. Change or clean your filters monthly. Dirty filters restrict the airflow,
making your air conditioners work harder to circulate air.

3. Clear away any obstructions and debris from around your appliance. This
includes pruning any plant growth. There should be several feet of space
around the unit in order for it to effectively draw air into its system.

4. Make certain that your clothes dryer is vented more than ten feet from
your unit. Lint from your dryer will cling to the condensing coils and lower its
efficiency.

5. Clean the coils on your air conditioners coils. Dirty coils can reduce your
air conditioners performance by up to ten percent. Make sure you consult the
manufacturers recommendations before doing any work. However, many
units can be cleaned with warm, soapy water and a garden hose (spray
downward). If you have tough stains, try using a toothbrush. Always turn off
the power before cleaning the unit and be careful not to damage the delicate
coils.

6. Straighten any bent coil fins that might be blocking airflow. A fin comb
can be purchased from any air conditioner wholesaler.

7. Shade your outdoor air conditioner unit. A shaded unit will stay cooler and
have an easier time cooling the air. According to the U.S. Department of
Energy, a properly shaded unit is up to ten percent more efficient then one
that is not shaded.

8. Insulate your ducts. Ducts can be sealed with mastic tape or sealer and
then wrapped with low-cost, foil-faced, R08 rated fiberglass insulation.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the cost of insulating the ducts
will be repaid in less than three years with the energy savings.

9. Have your ductwork professionally cleaned every few years. Obstructions

in the ducts are almost as bad as leaks when it comes to reducing efficiency.
Dirty ductwork can also clog evaporator coils, which will further reduce an air
conditioners efficiency.

10. Do not block registers. This includes keeping furniture and drapes away
from them as well as vacuuming them regularly.

11. Raise your temperature settings, especially when you are planning to be
away for several hours. Each degree you raise your thermostat in the
summer can lower your energy bill by up to nine percent.

12. Keep the unit fan set on auto. It is not necessary to run the fan
constantly.

13. Use ceiling fans to keep air moving and circulate the air throughout your
home.

14. Install a whole house fan. A whole house fan cools your house by drawing
outdoor air inside through open windows and exhausting the hotter air from
your house outside through the attic. These can lower the indoor temperature
by up to ten degrees in a few minutes.

15. Check that your attic is properly ventilated. An improperly vented attic
can raise your cooling costs by up to ten percent.

16. Use blinds or drapes to shade any south or west facing windows during
the hottest parts of the day. If you do not want to cover the window, consider
solar shade screens, which have a special weave that blocks sunlight without
necessarily blocking the view.

17. Turn off lights that are not needed.

18. Do not use heat-producing appliances such as your oven, dishwasher, or

clothes dryer until late in the evening.

19. Use a dehumidifier to reduce the moisture level in your home.

20. Check your home for any unwanted air leaks. Air leaks usually account for
thirty percent of a homes cooling costs. Specifically check the holes around
plumbing, wiring, doors, and windows.

Most of these suggestions will help you keep your home cool without raising

your energy bill. After all, it is hard to stay cool when your blood is boiling
every time you sit down to pay your bills.

summer asr leftine ointn..

HOW AN AIR CONDITIONER WORKS

The job of your home air conditioner is move heat from inside your home to
the outside, thereby cooling you and your home. Air conditioners blow cool
air into your home by pulling the heat out of that air. The air is cooled by
blowing it over a set of cold pipes called an evaporator coil. This works just
like the cooling that happens when water evaporates from your skin. The
evaporator coil is filled with a special liquid called a refrigerant, which
changes from a liquid to a gas as it absorbs heat from the air. The refrigerant
is pumped outside the house to another coil where it gives up its heat and
changes back into a liquid. This outside coil is called the condenser because
the refrigerant is condensing from a gas back to a fluid just like moisture on a
cold window. A pump, called a compressor, is used to move the refrigerant
between the two coils and to change the pressure of the refrigerant so that
all the refrigerant evaporates or condenses in the appropriate coils.
The energy to do all of this is used by the motor that runs the compressor.
The entire system will normally give about three times the cooling energy
that the compressor uses. This odd fact happens because the changing of
refrigerant from a liquid to a gas and back again lets the system move much
more energy than the compressor uses.

WHAT A 'TON' OF COOLING IS

Before refrigeration air conditioning was invented, cooling was done by

saving big blocks of ice. When cooling machines started to get used, they

rated their capacity by the equivalent amount of ice melted in a day, which is
where the term ton came from sizing air conditioning.
A ton of cooling is now defined as delivering 12,000 BTU/hour of cooling. BTU
is short for British Thermal Unit (and is a unit that the British do not use) The
BTU is a unit of heating - or in this case, cooling - energy. Its more important,
however, to keep in perspective that a window air conditioner is usually less
than one ton. A small home central air conditioner would be about two tons
and a large one about five tons.

WHAT GOES WRONG

Unlike most furnaces, air conditioners are complex mechanical systems that
depend on a wide variety of conditions to work correctly. They are sized to
meet a certain load on the house. They are designed to have certain
amount of refrigerant, known as the charge. They are designed to have a
certain amount of air flow across the coils. When any of these things
changes, the system will have problems.
If you produce more heat indoors either from having more people or
appliances or because of changes in the house, the air conditioning may not
be able to keep up.
If the refrigerant charge on the system leaks out, it lowers the capacity of the
system. You will simply get less cooling and system will not be able to keep
up when the load gets high.
If airflow across the outdoor (condenser) coil is reduced, the ability to reject
heat outdoors is reduced and the again the capacity of the system may go
down, especially at higher outdoor temperatures.<
In dry climates such as the Southwest United States, the same issues happen
with regard to the indoor (evaporator) coil: higher airflow helps, lower airflow
hurts. In humid climates, the situation is more complex. At higher airflows,
there will be less dehumidification, leading to high indoor humidities. If the
airflow gets too low, however, the evaporator coil may freeze. This makes
performance worse and can damage the compressor until it fails - leaving you
with an expensive repair bill and no cooling!

WHAT THOSE FILTERS DO

Almost every air conditioning system has a filter upstream of the evaporator
coil. This can be in the return grille or in special slots in the duct system and
can be a fuzzy-looking or a folded paper filter. This filter removes particles
from the air stream to both keep the air conditioning system clean and to
remove particles from the air.
As the filter does its job, it gets loaded with more and more particles. This
actually has the effect of making it more efficient, but it also increases
resistance and reducing airflow. When this happens, it is time to change the
filter. How long it will take to happen depends on how dirty the air is and how
big the filter is.
If you dont change the filter, the air flow will go down, and the system will
not perform well. Not only that, but if the filter is too dirty, it starts to become
a source or air pollution itself.
If you take the filter out completely, you would solve the low air flow problem,
but this victory would be short lived. The particles that the filter would have
taken out will now build up on your evaporator coil and eventually cause it to
fail. A new filter is a lot cheaper.
When you do buy a new filter, ASHRAE recommends getting one with a
Minimum Efficiency Rating Value of MERV 6 or higher.

MAINTAIN THE SYSTEM

Routine maintenance such as changing filters can be handled by most

consumers, but others require professional service.
Its a good idea to brush dirt and obstructions from the coils and the drains at
the start of each cooling season. Depending on the system and the
consumer, this may require a service call from a professional.
If the system is not producing as much cold air as is normal, it could also be
an indication of a refrigerant charge or airflow problems. These problems may
require servicing.

DUCTS MATTER - A LOT

Another reason systems may appear not to be producing enough cold air is

because of duct leakage. Duct leakage can sap 20 to 40% of the energy out
of even a well-operating air conditioner, if the ducts pass outside the cooled
space (this includes attics, crawlspaces and garages). Ducts outside need to
be well insulated. Various products exist specifically for insulating ducts that
can be installed by a keen home owner or a professional contractor.
You might be able to get an extra half ton of air conditioner capacity for free,
if you seal your leaky ducts. If the ducts are accessible, handy consumers can
seal ducts with masticthat white sticky stuff you can paint on the ducts.
Otherwise you would need a professional to seal the ducts.

HOW TO INCREASE ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Sealing leaky ducts may be the biggest single thing you can do to improve
efficiency, but a lot of the issues mentioned about will help as well: replace
dirty filters, keep the right charge and airflow, clean the coils.
Another thing to do is to make sure the outdoor (condenser) unit is not so
hidden from sight that its air flow is blocked or that leaves or other matter are
not clogging it.
If you are replacing the air conditioner, look to buy high efficiency equipment.
The most generally known efficiency rating is Seasonal Energy Efficiency
Rating (SEER). SEER 13 is the minimum efficiency you should consider, but
higher efficiencies are likely to be quite cost effective.
Depending on your climate, you may wish to consider other efficiency
numbers as well. For example, in hot, dry climates you should look at the
Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) which says how well the system will work at
peak conditions. If you live in a hot, humid climate you need to consider how
well the unit can dehumidify.<

LIGHTEN YOUR LOAD

You can make your air conditioner work better by reducing the size of the job
it has to do. You can do this by improving the building or reducing the
internally generated loads that your air conditioner must deal with.
Improving the building envelope includes things such increasing insulation
levels or shading windows or reducing air leakage. Such improvements will
reduce energy spent on heating and cooling, but may require substantial time
or investment. When putting in a new roof or new windows, it is usually cost

effective to use high-efficiency products. Cool roofing, for example, can

save half a ton of cooling and a lot of energy over the year.
Reducing internal loads can be simpler. Shut off unneeded electrical
appliances, lights and equipment. Shift appliance use (such as washers and
dryers) to cooler times of the day. Use local exhaust fans to remove heat and
humidity from kitchens and baths. Buying Energy Star or similarly efficiency
appliances helps as well.
In some climates other techniques can be used to reduce the load on the air
conditioner. In dry climates evaporative air conditions (the modern version of
what used to be called swamp coolers) can provide substantial cooling. In
climates with large temperature swings, such as the hot, dry climates, you
can reduce the load by bringing in large amounts of cool outdoor air. Such
systems can be called night cooling ventilative cooling or residential
economizers.

VENTILATE

The previous points have focused on cooling, but the original definition of air
conditioning contains more than that; an ideal air conditioner should heat,
cool, clean, ventilate, humidify and dehumidify as needed to provide health
and comfort. In fact the second most important objective of the original
definition is to provide ventilation. Whether or not the piece of equipment we
call an air conditioner provides it, ventilation is needed.
Without adequate ventilation, contaminants generated indoors will can lead
to significant health and comfort problems. ASHRAE recommends that there
be at least enough ventilation to exchange the air inside house once every
four hours, depending on house design.
Older homes tend to have leakier walls and leakier ducts and mostly get
sufficient ventilation through such leakage. Such leakage and infiltration may
not be the most energy efficient approach to ventilation and is an opportunity
for savings.
Most new homes and some existing homes are relatively tight and thus
require mechanical ventilation to meet minimum ventilation requirements.

IT'S NOT THE HEAT, IT'S THE HUMIDITY

Humidity control was the problem that originally spurred the need for air
conditioning. Lack of humidity control in hot, humid climates, in particular,
can lead to mold growth and other moisture-related problems. High indoor
humidities can lead to health and comfort problems.
Modern air conditioners dehumidify as they cool; you can see that by the
water that drains away, but this dehumidification is incidental to their main
job of controlling temperature. They cannot independently control both
temperature and humidity.

In hot, humid climates the incidental dehumidification that occurs may not
always be enough to keep the indoor humidity conditions acceptable.
(ASHRAE recommends roughly a 60% relative humidity maximum at 78F.) The
maximum dehumidification happens not at the hot times of the yearwhen
the air conditioner is running a lotbut at mild times of the year when the air
conditioner runs very little.

Although there are some leading edge air conditioning systems that promise
to independently control humidity, conventional systems may not be able to
sufficiently control the problem and can cause comfort or mold problems in
certain situations. Some current high-end systems have enhanced
dehumidification, but when the existing system cannot sufficiently
dehumidify, it may be necessary to buy a stand-alone dehumidifier.

There are things that consumers can do to lessen the need for
dehumidification:

Do not set your thermostat to the fan on position. In this position the fan
blows air all the time whether your cooling system is running or not and one
key impact is that a lot of the moisture your system just took out of the air,
will be blown back into the house before it can drain way.
Use exhaust fans during moisture-producing activities. Cooking, bathing,
washing, and similar activities produce a lot of moisture inside the home.
Exhaust that moisture directly outdoors using a fan. Similarly, avoid drying
clothes indoors except with a clothes dryer that is exhausted directly
outdoors.Ingenious Homemade Air Conditioner Ideas
These homemade air-conditioner designs take the mystery out of cold-air

production. Some are complicated, some are cheap and simple, some run on
alternative energy, and the last one is so out there that you'll just have to try
it.

The California Cooler

The California Cooler is a revival of an old technology driven by an insight

that's overlooked in these days of engineered indoor environments: Cool air
keeps things cool. In the days before refrigerators, pantries in Northern
California homes had outside vents that preserved perishables throughout
cool nights. With this project, you can bring them back.

Liquid-Cooled Car Seats

Afraid your baby's seat is getting too hot? A cooler, a bilge pump, freezer
packs and tubing will keep you and your baby cool.

Dew Bucket: An Evaporative Drink Cooler

Consider these two facts: Evaporation cools things, and bottles can't sweat
like people. If they could, they would be able to keep their own contents cool.
Here's a way to give your drinks their own perspiration system.

Portable Air Conditioner

This is a $10 air-conditioner built around an ice chest. The coolant is, you
guessed it, ice. It's practical and cheap, but even if you don't plan to make
one, click through to read the back story of how it was conceived. The main
character is an electric truck circa 1979, with cameos by store-bought $500
portable A/Cs and a Tesla Roadster.

Garden-Watering A/C

Air conditioners can dump hundreds of gallons of water each year. With a
pump and some creative pipe work, you can channel that otherwise wasted
water into your garden.

Homemade A/C

The mastermind behind these instructions built an air conditioner to

circumvent a rule in the office. Apparently, they can't use A/C, but fans are
just fine. So, this DIYer rigged an A/C by pumping cold water in an ice chest
through copper tubing positioned in front of a fan blade.

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>

CONTINUED: 5 More DIY A/C's >>>

DIY Air Conditioner With Heat Exchanger

Ugly and effective, this air conditioner costs as much as you'd pay to run a
fan and water the lawn at the same time. If the water coming into your home
is cold in the summer, you can divert it through a maze of copper pipes with
aluminum fins, place the contraption in front of a fan, and voila: The water
cools the house on its way to the lawn.

Mini Solar A/C

Salvage a computer fan, power it with a solar cell, and surround it with wet
cloth. That's the gist of this mini solar A/C. At $5, it's cheap too. You could
place a half dozen of these around the house. Just make sure they match the
curtains.

Solar-Powered Air Conditioner

On smoldering hot days, Rob Patto derives smug satisfaction knowing that
the same sun that keeps him huddled indoors is also cooling his home. Here,
he describes how he gutted an evaporative cooler and cobbled his A/C
together from salvaged and new parts. Be sure to read Patto's separate
instructions on setting up solar panels to power the unit:
http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Solar-Setup/

Tiny, Portable USB Fan Air Conditioner

Using only a tin can, a CD, a computer fan and ice, this is a brilliant design for
a tiny air conditioner. The best thing about these instructions are that their
maker doesn't speak English as a first language, so they're concise and rely
heavily on photos.

How to Make a Stirling Engine Fan

This must-do DIY project turns a stack of two soft-drink cans, a balloon and
some intricately folded wire into a goofy and brilliant rotating area fan.

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