The constant march of progress is always moving things forward, and one of the ways things are changing the most in recent years has to do with efficiency. Americans put the largest share of home energy use toward heating and cooling, and it costs a bundle! Anything you can do to use less energy will cut your utility bills, and AC manufacturers have been working to help you there.
New air conditioners are being made which are able to work at least as well as the older models did, but without using nearly as much energy. Miraculous! What’s different about the new high-efficiency air conditioners that allows them to work so well and save so much energy? Here are the details.
AC Basics
Let’s start with a refresher course on how air conditioners work. The components we’re going to focus on are the coils, which the refrigerant flows through, the motor, which powers the blower fan, and the compressor, which pressurizes the refrigerant so it keeps moving.
Indoors, the refrigerant flows through the evaporator coils. It soaks up heat from the air, which causes it to evaporate, becoming a gas inside the coils. The now-cool air gets forced through the ducts and out the vents in your home thanks to the blower fan and its motor, and the refrigerant keeps flowing.
Outdoors, the refrigerant reaches the condenser coils. The heat from your home dissipates, and the refrigerant condenses back into a liquid. And the compressor keeps everything going, so the cycle can continue until your home is cool enough.
AC Improvements
If the refrigerant can absorb and release as much heat as possible, as quickly as possible, the whole system will run less of the time, which will cut your energy use. To accomplish this, manufacturers have been working to find materials for the coils that have the highest possible thermal conductivity. New AC coils can absorb and release heat much more efficiently than the older ones did.
In addition to running less of the time, it will cut energy use if some of the components—especially the ones which require the most electricity—can spend much of the time running in lower-power modes. Both blower fan motors and compressors were traditionally only turned on and off and could not be adjusted.
Now, not only can they run at different power settings, but they can adjust themselves! Variable-speed motors and multi-phase compressors use the minimum amount of energy required to get the job done. Only when maximum cooling power is really required will they ramp up to full power, and as soon as it’s no longer needed, they’ll reduce their energy use again.
When you’re ready for air conditioning installation in Nashville, TN, you’ll be so pleased with the new options!
Covenant Heating and Cooling is your trusted resource for reliable AC installation in Nashville, TN. We are “Dedicated to the Promise of Serving You!” Contact us today.