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ASI's Green HVAC News - Air Conditioning Water Misters
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Air Conditioning Condenser Water Misters
There are several products on the market that use different methods of applying water to the surface of the condensing coil on an air conditioning unit and the bottom line on energy savings is that they will save energy by increasing the efficiency of the refrigerant condensing or heat removal process. However, there are a couple of draw backs from using one of these devices. First lets try and explain just how these things work and then we can go over some of the draw backs.
Normally you would buy one of these in a kit but it is also very easy for you to make your own custom system and possibly even improve on the idea a little.Basically the system consist of what you see at the left, a paddle designed to activate a small water valve when the condenser fan is on. Tubing to connect this to your outside water faucet or other point of connection and either several water miters heads to place around the outsider of the condensing unit next to the condenser coil or some sort of drip devices on the tubing that would drip water on the outside of the condenser around the top.
The water increases the efficiency of the air conditioning unit both by cooling the air a little as it enters the condenser coil but also by evaporation of the water on the condensing coil. This allows for faster heat removal from the refrigerant because as any lesson in physics would explain, any state of change from a liquid to a gas, which is evaporation, results in an increase in heat absorption. In other words the water absorbs a lot of heat to change it's state from a liquid to a vapor or gas.Some of these devices waste more water than could be utilized in the actual process as the majority of the water is lost to the ground around the unit. This is unavoidable unless you want to take the top of the unit off and place the water directly on the condensing coil itself.
That is one of the draw backs, water usage must be considered when using one of these devices and the amount of wasted water should always be of great concern. By adjusting water nozzles, drip apparatus or relocating them entirely and by adjusting the amount of water it is conceivable that you could get it to the point that water losses are minimized but obviously there will always be some water wasted no matter how hard you try and optimize the misting system.
The other draw back is that no matter how good your water quality and no matter how many filters you might place onto the water line feeding the device at some point in time the minerals and other stuff present in solution in the water will coat the coil and unit and this coat of mainly minerals will start to decrease the efficiency of the unit. Gradually, unless kept clean, I would suspect that this build up could actually cause the system to use more energy regardless of the added water evaporation and cooling effect.
One other possible concern might be mold, with water and when that water is present for long periods in a warm environment you will more than likely grow some mold, being outdoors this may not be an issue other than the obvious reasons and it must be pointed out that there is absolutely no chance of any moisture or water of any kind from these systems getting into the inside of the building or home as it is entirely isolated to the outside unit.
This device could become a maintenance problem over time for most people but if the user were to take the necessary steps to filter the water and clean the condensing coil as required based on the amount of mineral deposits that remain on the coil and that same person installed the system to waste the least amount of water possible... then the energy savings could very well be worthwhile in the long term.
I think each person needs to draw their own conclusion on using one of these devices, the effort to get the system to work properly and the effort to maintain the system must be considered when making that decision. The idea of using water evaporation to reduce energy costs is not new, there are many methods that do work such as misting devices on the roof of a building or even the addition of what is known as a green roof system where plants are actually installed and maintained on the roof of a building. All of these system require careful planning and installation as well as adjustment of the amount of water utilized for them to be a viable option for energy savings.
ASI's HVAC and Home Improvement Articles HVAC Contractor Air Conditioning Refrigerant Rip Off One of the more common things we see are air conditioning systems that have been overcharged with refrigerant. This common rip off is usually done when you call for a simple maintenance service and they... HVAC Heating Air Conditioning Capacitor Rip Off Another common practice by dishonest contractors is to replace a simple small part that many times is not necessary. The capacitor is one of those parts that is relatively inexpensive... The Geo-Thermal System Explained in a Nut Shell Geothermal is by far the highest efficiency heating and cooling system available today. While the systems require up to three times more investment upfront than a conventional heating and cooling system... Ameri-Serv, Inc. Heating and Cooling News Ameri-Serv Inc Helping the Treasure Valley Community Ameri-Serv, Inc. Heating and Cooling has successfully helped dozens of Treasure Valley Families with thousands of dollars worth of free maintenance services and repairs through this holiday... |
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ASI's Cooling Related Articles
  What
should I Look for Before I call for services on my air conditioning
system? The number one issue we find on air conditioning systems is
clogged filters. First look to see if your air filter is clean and not
clogged up, if it is clogged change the air filter and try your system
again but keep in mind with the air conditioning system running with a
clogged air filter you could have also iced up your indoor coil due to
low air flow.
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  Why
does my Air Conditioning run all day in hot weather? Assuming this is
not a new symptom... this is a common complaint and can be attributed to
two possible things. The first is that your system may have been
designed correctly to meet the latest energy codes to perform at the
highest efficiency. The other possibility is that it was not designed at
all or was not sized properly in the first place. |
  Things you can do to maintain your air conditioning system. You can keep the outdoor air conditioner clean. You can
vacuum out the inside of the unit and get all those leaves and stuff
out. On most units you can gain access through the service panel. Be
sure the power is off before opening the panel. Be careful not to knock
off any wires and do not hit the coil as you will cause permanent
damage.
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  In
the case of the thermostat calling for cooling the thermostat switches
on the power from the “R” or in some cases the “RC” terminal which is
the 24 volt power source to the “Y” terminal on the thermostat which is
in essence the call for cooling. These terminals are located on the back
or on the wall mounted face plate of the thermostat. All the wires
connected to the thermostat will usually always go directly to the
furnace and another set of wires will then go out to the outdoor air... |
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Copyright 2011. ASI Heating and Cooling a Division of Ameri-Serv, Inc. All rights reserved