Has the Heat Wave Got Refrigerated Air on Your Mind?

During the recent heat wave, our neighbors down in Tucumcari tied their second highest temperature on record at a staggering 108º. You probably heard that the Phoenix airport got so hot that some passenger jets couldn’t take off – 118º! While we haven’t cracked the 110º mark yet here in New Mexico, you may feel your swamp cooler isn’t living up to your expectations. If you find yourself blasting the cooler, opening windows, and still not getting the cooling performance […]

This article is part of a two-part piece on HVAC. If you haven’t already read part 1, I reccomend you do so before continuing. HVAC – Ventilation Ventilation is responsible for keeping the air in our buildings breathable. Without ventilation, our buildings would fill up with carbon dioxide and other contaminants and become uninhabitable. Ventilation systems replenish oxygen, filter out dust, bacteria, foul smells, smoke, and other pollutants, and prevent interior air from becoming musty and stagnant. Ventilation apparatus fall […]

Everyone knows the HVAC repairman fixes your heater or cooler. But what is HVAC? HVAC stands for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. HVAC is actually much broader and more complex than just your heater or air conditioner. It is responsible for making modern buildings habitable, in terms of thermal comfort in as well as the indoor air quality. For large facilities, HVAC design requires a team of engineers with skills in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, fluid dynamics, and thermodynamics. For […]

Refrigerated Air Conditioning Vs. Evaporative Cooling — Costs and Benefits of Each So, what are the benefits of each type of system, and which one is right for you? There are several factors you should consider when choosing between refrigerated air and evaporative cooling. Cost — Generally speaking, swamp coolers are less expensive to purchase, install, and operate. Maintenance — Swamp coolers typically require more maintenance than refrigerated air systems. This is where you have to ask yourself how handy […]

Refrigerated Air Conditioning Vs. Evaporative Coolers – Which is Better? In most of the country, the debate between refrigerated air and evaporative cooling (which we call swamp coolers) is irrelevant. This is because swamp coolers are only effective in areas with very low relative humidity. If you have a swamp cooler, you’ve undoubtedly experienced the consequences of this fact — your cooler doesn’t work when it has just rained or when the humidity is particularly high. Both evaporative cooling and […]

Just because your home may seem smaller than other houses does not mean your air conditioning options are limited in choices. In this article we will cover your mobile home air conditioning options. #1. Window units. Although it is certainly possible to head down to the local big box warehouse store and get that last year’s discontinued AC model at a heck of a deal, there will be other ‘payments’. Window units can be noisy and inefficient as well as […]

Did you know that in general, the air in your home is 4-5 times as polluted as outside?  That is because we add particulates to our air, including dust, smoke and bacteria. Some of these are very small – less than .3 microns. To put that in perspective the average cross-section of a human hair is 50 microns and the human eye cannot see anything smaller than 40 microns in size! Let’s look at ways to improve the air quality in your home. […]

Here in New Mexico, we tend to utilize different parts of an air conditioning/heating system than say Maine for obvious reasons. However it does get cold enough here in the Albuquerque and surrounding areas to need heat in the winter cold – and a heat pump sometimes just does not generate as much heat as some would like. A solution is a heat pump with a furnace backup – or an A/C unit with furnace for heat. Let’s look at […]

As manufacturing standards, materials and production get better – so does the efficiency of the units that are produced. When considering the purchase of a new or replacement furnace, heat pump or air conditioner, be sure to ask about its Efficiency Ratings. In this article our goal is to do our best explaining air conditioning efficiency ratings so they help you make good buying decisions. #1. SEER.  The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio is the calculation for the amount of cooling your […]

The emergency heat setting switch on a heat pump thermostat confuses many people. Bottom line is this: emergency heat is simply a switch that turns on electric heaters that are installed in your unit to supply heat in an emergency only. And it will cost you tons when your electric bill comes in! A heat pump installed where the temperature can drop below 35 degrees need a supplemental heating source.  Most often this is electric resistance heating – at the […]