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If you wish to install a new HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system in your home or
want to replace the existing one, you may have already faced some of the challenging questions that
a lay person to the field of Air Conditioning may have to answer in order to choose their A/C system.
This webpage is an intent to answer most of the above questions. However we remain at your service
to review the specifics of your case and base on your needs to provide a set of options.
Just call us.
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The sizes of Central Air conditioning systems for residential vary between 1 to 5 tons.
Some homes are either so large or designed in such a way that it may be necessary or just preferable
to divide the space and install two Air Conditioning systems.
In older houses where the insulation is not very good, a good rule of thumb is to calculate
one ton per 400 sq ft. The same rule may apply if the home has a good insulation but vaulted ceilings.
Air Conditioning differs quite drastically from a Central Heating System. Heating requries
about a third of the power needed for an Air Conditioning system. While even an underpowered heating system
will most likely manage to warm up the habitable space given that it is left to work long
enough, this is not the case with an Air Conditioning system.
When the outside temperature reaches the high 90F or worse the three digits, homes with an
underpowered system will remain hot. It will feel like not having any Air Conditioning at all.
Practically this means that you will miss the comfort provided by your Air Conditioning on the very days
that you need it most.
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OUR RECOMMENDATION :
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DO NOT TRY SAVING MONEY BY CHOOSING
1/2 or 1 TON SMALLER A/C THAN WHAT YOU NEED.
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The SEER values (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) represent the efficiency of your Air Conditioning system.
In other words, how much electricity does your A/C system require to produce a certain amount of cooling?
The higher the SEER, the less electricity is proportionally been used.
By analogy, think of a car: the more miles per gallons the car does, the more efficient it is.
Most people estimate the amount of Air Conditioning they yearly use and decide whether a higher level
of SEER will represent enough savings on their monthly electrical bills that it makes it worth investing
the money in the equipment at the time of the installation.
In addition to this equation come also two unknown factors:
- The first unknow factor is the price of energy (which is supposed to keep increasing)
- The second unknown factor is the weather (we hear a lot about global warming).
The general trend is for the weather to get warmer and therefore for us to use more Air conditioning while
the shortage of electricity has become more common (repeated blackouts) and has been associated with a
price increase.
You may not have to get into complicated simulations of what may be in the future years.
Instead, since
October 2005, home owners have to take into account the new Title 24 regulations and may be forced
to choose a higher SEER than they would have chosen before October 2005 because of this law change.
To learn more about the law change you may directly visit the
California Energy Commission website or
read our summary of it.
Accross California and for air conditioners built after January 23, 2006, the minimum SEER
allowed as of today is 13. But check with your city building department as your city may
require a higher minimum SEER that the State.
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LET THE RULES OF the NEW TITLE 24 BE YOUR GUIDE
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A well design duct system will ensure a balanced air flow throughout the house.
Have you ever experienced that one room (or more) was (were) too hot in the summer and too cold
in the winter? If you have, you will certainly appreciate the design of our duct systems.
AIR FLOWS WHERE IT IS EASIEST TO GO.
For example, air will flow through bigger ducts rather than smaller. Air will run a shorter distance
up to open spaces rather than longer distance (or said differently, will rather travel short ducts
than long ones, their diameter being equal).
It therefore stands to reason that rooms closer to the source of the air will receive more air
than a much further away room if not special care is being taken to compensate for
the distance difference.
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IMPORTANCE OF AIR-DUCT DESIGN:
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WE PROVIDE DAMPERS FOR BALANCED
AIR FLOW THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE.
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SEAL REQUIREMENTS:
As of October 2005, the new Title 24 regulates the level of insulation of the ducts and the amount
of air leakage allowed. Whenever a HERS inspection is required, ducts which replace old ducts should
have a air leakage below 15%. New ducts in a new residence should have an air leakage even lower,
namely below 6%.
Our technicians have received the proper training to seal the ducts as recommended by the new law.
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IMPORTANCE OF AIR-DUCT SEALING:
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OUR DUCTS ARE
AIR-TIGHT SEALED
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ASBESTOS DUCTS:
What is Asbestos?
Asbestos is a mineral fiber. In the past, asbestos was added to a variety of products to strengthen them
and to provide heat insulation and fire resistance. It was eventually proven beyong doubt that asbestos fibers
were carcinogenic and the product was banned.
Asbestos duct:
Many houses built before asbestos was banned in 1977 have metal ducts covered, on the outside, with asbestos.
Asbestos as health hazard:
As long as the asbestos fibers are left untouched, they remain relatively harmless. However, if disturbed,
asbestos material may release asbestos fibers, which can be inhaled into the lungs. The fibers can remain there
for a long time, increasing the risk of disease.
What to do if you have Asbestos duct:
As the result of the health hazard that asbestos represents, no HVAC contractor is allowed to handle asbestos ducts.
If your home contains asbestos ducts, those cannot be repaired, extended or partially replaced.
In fact, upon any type of improvement, asbestos ducts must be removed by a certified asbestos-removal company before
the new ducting may be installed. However if left untouched, there is no obligation to replace them
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ASBESTOS DUCTS:
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THEY REPRESENT A RISK HAZARD
DO NOT LET UNCERTIFIED PEOPLE TOUCH THEM
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In large homes or in homes with multi-storeys, not all parts of the house may have the same Air Conditioning
needs. By dividing the space to be conditioned, one can save energy.
To address this issue, many builders have changed their standards and started to install two smaller
systems rather than a single big one.
Alternatively for houses where there is already an Air Conditioning System, zoning can be installed.
It required modifying or replacing the existing ducts but it allows to activate a single Air-Conditioning
system in response to the needs of an area which is being used rather than the needs of the whole house.
For example, let us imagine that one is alone at home during the day and spends most of one’s time in the
den which is downstairs. With a well designed zoning, one can regulate the Air Conditioning to be on until it
cools down the den to 72F (as an arbitrary value for a comfortable temperature) and then to be switched off
even though the upstairs rooms are still at 86F. This approach results in the Air Conditioner being on
for a much shorter time than if it had to cool down the whole house the whole day. This results in huge
energy and therefore money savings.
Zoning does not work for all homes and all situations but we will be happy to discuss this
option with you.
Just contact us at
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ZONING:
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WILL SAVE ENERGY PARTICULARLY WHEN HOUSEHOLD SPENDS TIME
TOGETHER IN THE SAME ZONE
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Air Conditioning is based on the property of a family of gas called refrigerants. Along the time different
refrigerants have been used to produce cooling including CFC (Chlorine Fluorine Carbon), HCFC (Hydrogen
Chlorine Fluorine Carbon) and HFC (Hydrogen Fluorine Carbon). CFCs include R-11, R-12 and R-500. HCFC include
R-22 and R-123. HFC includes R-134a. Until recently the refrigerant used in most residential
Air-Conditioning systems was R-22 or Freon.
However the Chlorine fluorocarbon gas cause damages to the ozone layer when they are released in the
atmosphere. The EPA has regulated the amount of CFC, HCFC and HFC that could be released in the atmosphere
per year and per system and implemented recovery and recycling measures to limit the amount of refrigerants
added to the atmosphere. These measures are certainly beneficial but cannot completely eliminate the contamination
of the atmosphere by the refrigerants. The Montreal Protocol established in mid 1989 called for a stepwise
reduction and eventually production phase out of various Ozone Depleting Substances in develpped countries.
The discovery of R410A apparently solves this problem. R410A works under slightly different conditions than
R22 but it does the same job of cooling. Its major benefits is that it does not cause damages to the
ozone layer.
R410 is also called Puron. This refrigerant is being used in many newly made Air-Conditioning systems which
are 14 SEER or higher. It is the refrigerant of the future without any doubt. To learn more about puron
you may visit the website of one of its developer: Honeywell.
R-22 is going to completely come out of production by 2030 but the production has been regulated so that
it will drop dramatically during the last 20 years before the final ban. Thereafter only reclaimed R22
will be available on the market for repairs of older units still working with this refrigerant. Concretely
it means that the price of R-22 will keep rising as it happened with R-12. In fact, the price of R22 has
already triple in the last 2 years and keeps going up.
THE NEWEST REFRIGERANT IN USE IS:
R410A OR PURON:
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IT IS ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY.
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Carrier Condenser and furnace
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There are many Air Conditioner brands in the market. While they apparently offer very similar
products (same number of tons and SEER) they often differ in quality.
Some brands equip their products with additional features which contribute to protect them
from fatal failures. Some manufacturers are so confident about the quality of their products
that they do not hesitate to double their warranty time compared to their competitors.
Our favorite brand is Carrier because of the reasons listed below:
- Carrier is a well-established manufacturer of HVAC
- Carrier manufactures reliable products
- Carrier developed systems using puron many years ago so it has a well-finished
product even with this newer technology.
- Carrier provide sound rating to his systems
- Carrier provides 10 years warranty on the compressor in many cases.
- Carrier provides many other features of great interest
but as it all depends on the case per case situation,
we will be happy to talk about those when we meet with you.
Even though we favor Carrier or Carrier Corporation Products in many cases,
there are circumstances where the use of alternative equipment may make sense.
In such cases, we will discuss the different options with you.
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WE WILL SHARE OUR EXPERIENCE WITH YOU
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You may see from all directions, the colorful tape,
sealing all connections air tight.
Such precise sealing was, in this case, not required by law but we did it as we always do it,
professionally and up to our standards.
At the bottom of the picture, one may see
the filter cabinet (silver shiny)
under the furnace.
We place plastic cover over your belongings while working next to them to protect them
from dust which may fall from the attic.
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It makes sense that we will recommend our company to do the job. However we have good reasons to do so
as the paragraphs below indicate.
The customers who tried us out always like the installation we did
for them. So see by yourself.
Just call us.
949-939-2949
Fix My AC, Inc. is your company of choice for all your HVAC needs because:
- We have thirty years experience
- Our aim is to build long-term relationships with our clients and
therefore handle
each client and each job accordingly.
- We put great pride in our work
- We are professionals
- We do not do only installations but also repair and preventive maintenance. Therefore
when we do installations, we do them not only by the code but also with our technicians in mind.
Hence when your HVAC system needs to be serviced for either maintenance or repair, the technician has
access to all parts and can actually do his/her job. In the opposite case, the customer is left with
the problem and no easy/cheap solution to it.
What is unique to Fix My AC, Inc.?
- Pull City permits
It is mandatory by law. It ensures that your Heating and Air Conditioning system is allowed by law
and is installed as the code requires it. A city inspector comes
to inspect the installation and will make recommendations if anything is not appropriate.
It is for the protection of the home owners. Do not forsake it.
- Seal all connections air tight.
The law only requires duct sealing such that the air leakage is below 6% or 15% under specific conditions
like specific geographical areas or number of SEER. In other areas and if the SEER is above 14, then
there may be no requirements for the duct sealing and no HERS inspection will take place. However we will
seal all the connections of the newly installed equipment as if it had to pass the HERS inspection.
By doing so we reduced air leakage and reduce the energy consumption of the system thereby increasing
our customers' savings.
- For upflow furnaces:
We like to provide an air filter drawer which we place below the furnace.
It makes the replacement of the air filter (which should occur 4 times a year) much easier.
- For horzontal furnaces:
The law requires furnaces to be uplifted as a safety measure. So we comply with the law. But as always we
also go the extra mile. The law does not provide protection against vibrations and noise even though
people's bodies are sensitive to both of those whether it is conscious or not. But we do.
Our installation include strong springs which absorb the vibrations of the furnace. This is a unique feature
inspired from Commercial HVAC installation.
- Condensers
They will be placed on condenser pads and be hooked to them as it is required to keep them elevated
and stable.
- Protection of your assets
In some cases, the only access to the attic is an access located in the walk-in closet.
There is no way to prevent some of the dust from the attic to fall down. so, in such cases,
we will place plastic protections on the sides of the closet in order to protect
your belongings from that dust.
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