FAQ'S
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS...
How does air conditioning work?
Air conditioning absorbs the heat from inside a room, and displaces the heat outside. It does this using a special gas known as a refrigerant. As the air is drawn in by the fan in the interior unit, it passes over the evaporator. The refrigerant, which at this point is in a liquid state, heats up and turns back to a a gas, simultaneously absorbing the heat from the air. This is then passed through the compressor (in the outside unit) which converts the gas back to a liquid to continue down the same path again. PHEW!
Is Aircon any good for heating?
Yes it is! Air conditioning uses the same process is uses for heating as it does cooling. It simply reverses the process, so that it absorbs heat from the outside air and displaces it via the internal unit. This means there are no expensive heating elements as there are in traditional electric heaters. Air conditioning heating efficiency is measured in COP, which is a ratio between electricity the unit consumes and the heat the unit produces. Many good aircon units have a COP of 4 or more, which means for every 1kw of electricity the unit consumes, it produces 4kw of heat. Pretty impressive!
What is an inverter?
To understand an inverter, it is perhaps easier to first understand the "traditional" air conditioning unit. All aircon units use a compressor (think of it as the engine). A traditional unit uses an "on/off" compressor, which runs at one speed until the desired temperature is achieved, when it then switches off. As the temperature then increases, the compressor switches back on to cool the room again. An inverter uses a variable speed compressor which speeds up and down to maintain the temperature. The principle behind the idea, is it takes far less energy to maintain a temperature, than to be constantly achieving it. Many manufacturers quote saving of over 40% for inverters over traditional models!
Can I have more than one internal unit but only one outside?
Yes you can! This is called a multi-split system. There can be aesthetic advantages to this system, but also disadvantages too. We would be happy to discuss these with you, and whether a multi-split is right for your situation during our free, no obligation site survey.
Pre-installation
Some houses come with pre-installation for air conditioning. This generally can be for 2 types of units - split wall and ducted. Wall units will generally have a blank plate on the wall, behind which is the pipework, cable and drain for the internal unit. These should be in each room to be air conditioned and are installed individually. A ducted system will have vents into each room. An internal unit is installed into the ceiling (there will usually be a false ceiling to accommodate this - normally in the bathroom) and the unit will usually do all rooms on the same floor. Both types of pre-installation will then have the pipework exiting outside where the exterior unit is sited. We can visit to inspect your pre-installation and offer a free, no obligation quotation for the installation of you air conditioning.
What size unit do I need?
Choosing the right size unit is extremely important when considering air conditioning. Obviously a unit too small will not achieve the desired effect, but just as importantly an oversized unit can short cycle the compressor leading to premature equipment failure, and humidity problems where the room has been cooled too quickly before it has been able to reduce the humidity. Unfortunately there is not a "one size fits all" solution when specifying an aircon unit. Obviously the room size is the main consideration, but other factors such as windows, number of occupants, insulation etc have to be taken into consideration. We offer a free no obligation site survey where we can offer our advice
