Design Comfort Blog: Archive for the ‘Air Conditioning’ Category

How Does an Air Conditioner Cool the Air?

Friday, May 16th, 2014

Air conditioners are quite a feat of engineering. While they seem to just blow cool air, there is actually much more going on than appears to the eye. Simply put, your air conditioner takes the hot air from your home, runs it through your air conditioning system, and then returns it as cool, dry air. So, what appears as cool air blowing into your home is actually the same air with the heat removed. Want to know how your air conditioning does this? Let the Millcreek air conditioning system specialists at Design Comfort explain how this happens.

Refrigerant

You may have heard your air conditioning specialist say the word “refrigerant” in regard to your air conditioner. Refrigerant is the chemical your air conditioner uses to facilitate the heat transfer process. It does this by completing a cycle in which it changes from a liquid to a gas and back again, taking on and then dispersing heat from the air within your home.

The 3 Main Components of Your Air Conditioner

Your air conditioner has 3 main parts: the compressor, the condenser and the evaporator. These components are responsible for changing the refrigerant from a liquid to a gas and back to a liquid, all within your air conditioning system.

How Do the Refrigerant and Components Work Together to Cool the Air?

In its different states, the refrigerant carries out heat and then helps to cool the air that is brought back into your home. How? When a liquid converts to gas, it absorbs heat. So when the refrigerant is in a gaseous state, it absorbs the heat from your property. As the refrigerant gas moves through the system, it passes through the outside unit, where the heat is released and the refrigerant cools. The cooled gas moves back into the house to the evaporator, where warm air is blown onto the evaporator coils now holding the cooled refrigerant. This creates chilled air, which is delivered to the inside of your property via the ductwork.

Removal of Humidity

In addition to lowering the temperature, your air conditioner does a second important job: it also removes humidity. Moisture is a conductor of heat, which is why humidity makes things feel so much hotter. As your air conditioner removes heat, it also removes moisture from the air and drains it outside your home. Without this function, you would have cool, moist air in your home rather than cool, dry air.

It’s a Complex System

Your air conditioner is a complex machine that benefits most when a licensed professional manages its maintenance and repairs. For over 30 years, Design Comfort has been working on air conditioners in Millcreek. If you would like to know more about our products, installation or repairs, call us today!

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How Can My Air Conditioning System Help with Humidity?

Wednesday, April 30th, 2014

It’s not so much the heat as it is the humidity.

We’ve all heard this phrase before, and we’ve all experienced it: the higher the moisture level in the air, the more uncomfortable a hot day will feel. The reason for this is that high humidity makes it more difficult for our pores to sweat. Sweating is our bodies’ defense against overheating; the release of moisture from our bodies also releases heat. But with too much moisture in the air, we sweat at a slower rate, and lose heat at a slower rate as well. We end up feeling hotter than temperature around us.

Air conditioners can help make your home more comfortable during sweltering summer days when the humidity level contributes to your discomfort. But your AC needs to remain in good operating condition for this to work. When it’s time for repairs for your air conditioning, call Design Comfort. We have 24-hour emergency air conditioning service available in Salt Lake City for when that busted AC can’t wait.

Why Air Conditioning Helps Reduce Humidity

Modern ACs are not designed specifically as dehumidifiers (although some have humidity controls as extra features, and the first electro-mechanical air conditioner was specifically engineered to reduce humidity within a paper plant), but the process of evaporation that creates the feeling of cooler air in your home also draws moisture out of the air.

The evaporator coil in an air conditioner is located in the indoor cabinet of the system. As refrigerant runs through this coil, it absorbs heat from the air, cooling the air down. But it also absorbs moisture from the air, which condenses along the coil. This moisture collects into a shallow pan below the coil (the condensate pan) and from there a pump removes it through a drain. The moisture does not re-enter your home’s air, and so you experience a pleasant humidity reduction.

Watch Out For the Opposite Effect, However

Low humidity is often a problem in Salt Lake City, and this can feel as uncomfortable as high humidity. An air conditioner can end up drying your home out too much, and if this is often the case, consider investing in a whole-house humidifier to create a balance. The combination of the two will help your home achieve the right humidity level no matter the weather.

Design Comfort, along with offering excellent service for air conditioning systems in Salt Lake City, also installs humidifiers. Call us today and talk to our indoor air quality specialists to find out the best way to achieve the right moisture balance inside your house.

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Why Late Season Air Conditioning Maintenance is Important

Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

Summer temperatures climb in Utah, and a good air conditioning system can be your best friend when the mercury levels go up. In Salt Lake City, air conditioning maintenance can extend the life of your AC unit, as well as helping you through the sultry summer months until our cooler falls and winters can provide some relief. Indeed, the end of the summer can prove just as vital as the beginning when it comes to keeping your system functioning smoothly. Here are some reasons why late season air conditioning maintenance is important.

For starters, late summer is the best time to detect and plan for any larger repairs you may need to conduct. A routine maintenance plan can identify potential problem spots, which lets you schedule a repair service in the cool months of the fall, when you can more readily do without the air conditioner for the time it takes to perform the repairs. In addition, maintenance scheduled at the end of the summer allows you to pick up on any issues that have developed in the past few months, which may not have been present when the summer began.

Along those lines, issues left unaddressed at the end of the summer may deteriorate during the cool months of winter when you won’t be using your air conditioning unit. Dust, dirt and the snows of winter can exacerbate existing issues, turning little problems into big ones and leaving you with a nasty surprise when you try to turn on your air conditioning again late next spring. A routine service call will nip that potential in the bud, letting you rest easy in the winter knowing that your AC unit is ready to go when the temperatures start to rise again.

Homeowners who understand why late season air conditioning maintenance is important will contact a reliable service to do the job right. In Salt Lake City, air conditioning maintenance providers should understand out unique climate conditions, while offering professional expertise to handle even the most mundane problems.  At Design Comfort, we’re dedicated to your complete satisfaction, and offer both air conditioning maintenance plans and full-bore repair services in Salt Lake City. Call us today to make an appointment.

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Three Reasons Why You Should Consider Replacing Your Current Air Conditioning System

Wednesday, September 11th, 2013

When we talk to our customers about replacing their air conditioning system, they usually tell us that their AC is working just fine and doesn’t need to be replaced. However, there are actually some very attractive benefits to replacing your AC before it completely stops working. At Design Comfort, we are dedicated to providing our customers high quality Salt Lake City air conditioning services and we wanted to share some of the benefits of AC replacement with you.

Salt Lake City Air Conditioning Tip: Benefits of AC Replacement

Check out a few of the benefits to getting Salt Lake City air conditioning replacement services:

  • Reduced repair – As your air conditioning system ages, it will start to develop more and more problems as time goes on. If your air conditioning is getting older and you’ve started to notice more inconsistencies with it, you might be able to avoid repairs by getting it replaced.
  • Increased efficiency – Even if your AC is only a few years old, there have been incredible advances in air conditioning technology that allows homeowners to achieve very high levels of efficiency. By replacing your AC, you could reduce the amount of energy that you use to cool your home.
  • Greater comfort – As your air conditioning system ages, it will likely start to falter and underperform. When this happens, you could experience a decrease in your home’s cooling and comfort. Replacement would allow you to maintain the level of comfort in your home that you deserve.

Salt Lake City Air Conditioning Replacement

If you’re ready to consider replacing your air conditioning system, make sure that you call for professional help. Here at Design Comfort, we specialize in working with our customers from start to finish. We can help you pick out a system that matches your home’s needs as well as your budget.

Call us today to learn more and to talk with one of our friendly specialists.

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When To Have A New Air Conditioning System, Professionally Installed

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

Knowing when it’s time to replace your air conditioning system can be difficult. We often see homeowners that hang onto their dying AC system because they don’t want to go through the process of buying a new one. But there are several advantages to replacing your AC system and we wanted to help our customers understand when that time has come. Give us a call here at Design Comfort if you have any questions or if you’re ready for air conditioning system installation services in Salt Lake City.

When Do You Need Air Conditioning Installation Services?

Here are a few of the signs that you need to have a new air conditioning system installed in your home.

  • Not enough cooling – If your air conditioning system isn’t able to provide you with the amount of cooling that you need it could be time to replace it. It could be that your AC system is too small for your home but it could be another type of problem like a broken compressor, a bad fan motor or low refrigerant.
  • Frequent repairs – Your air conditioning system should be able to go long periods of time without needing repairs. If you have to call for frequent repairs for your air conditioning system it could mean that your AC is on its way out.
  • Inefficiency – Most homeowners want to be able to stay comfortable in their home but they don’t want to have to pay through the nose in order to do so. If your air conditioning system is using more energy than it normally does it could be a sign that you need Salt Lake City air conditioning installation services.

Benefits of Getting Professional Air Conditioning Installation

There are a few tremendous benefits to having a new air conditioning system installed.

  • Greater comfort – Obviously, if you get a new air conditioning system installed you will be able to better cool your home.
  • Efficiency – New air conditioning systems are designed to use as little energy as possible.
  • Reduced repairs – When you have a new air conditioning system installed you will likely be able to reduce the amount of repair that you need.

No matter what kind of problems you’re having with your AC, call the Salt Lake City air conditioning installation professionals at Design Comfort. We can work with you to determine if replacing your AC is the best idea or if you just need to repair it.

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How Dirty Coils Create Air Conditioning Problems

Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

Your air conditioning system is a complex piece of equipment whose main goal is to remove heat from your home and exhaust it outside. Two of the most important components of the system are the evaporator coils and the condensing coils. We wanted to take a minute to describe what these coils do and some of the problems that can happen when they get dirty. Call us here at Design Comfort if you need any air conditioning repair services in Salt Lake City. We can fix any type of issue that you might be having.

Salt Lake City Air Conditioning Repair: Dirty Coils

If you have a central AC system then you likely have an indoor evaporator unit and an outdoor condensing unit. In order to cool your home, the evaporator pulls in warm air from your home and passes it over a series of very cold evaporator coils. A refrigerant inside the coils absorbs the heat and carries it outside to the condensing unit where the condensing coils exhaust the air. If either of these coils get very dirty, it can cause significant problems for your home’s comfort.

Dirty Evaporator Coils

If the indoor evaporator coils get dirty it will first restrict the flow of air through your system. This can cause your fan motor to have to work harder to push air through the coils which reduces your AC’s efficiency. Also, because there is less air moving through the coils there is less cool air moving into your home which reduces your comfort. Sometimes, the dust on the evaporator coils can mix with condensation on the coils and allow for the growth of bacteria.

Dirty Condensing Coils

The condensing coils are there to exhaust heat so if they get clogged they won’t be able to do that. This can sometimes cause your air conditioning system to run almost constantly because it can’t get rid of the heat that it has. Similar to the evaporator coils, this will reduce the efficiency and comfort of your home.

If you need any repair services, call the Salt Lake City air conditioning repair specialists at Design Comfort.

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Why Air Conditioning Maintenance is Right for Your Home

Wednesday, August 14th, 2013

There are a lot of expenses that come with homeownership. Anyone that has ever dealt with a leaky roof or burst pipes knows how unpleasant such issues can be. Anything that you can do to save money in your home helps, and air conditioning maintenance is right at the top of that list. Do not let poor air conditioning maintenance practices put the condition of your system or, for that matter, your budget at risk. Contact Design Comfort today to schedule service. Our professional Salt Lake City air conditioning technicians have the training and experience necessary to ensure that you cooling system is in the best working condition possible.

There is no avoiding the general wear and tear that air conditioning systems incur during regular operation over the course of the cooling season. Just because you cannot avoid its development, though, does not mean that this wear and tear must have a serious impact on the condition of your air conditioning system. That is why routine air conditioning maintenance in Salt Lake City is so important. It helps to keep your air conditioning system in great working condition by allowing your professional ac maintenance technician the opportunity to tune-up your entire system thoroughly. It is also a great way to catch problems with your air conditioner early on so that they can be resolved as soon as possible.

The longer that these problems with your air conditioning system are left alone, the more serious they are likely to become. Most serious problems do not suddenly develop overnight. They start off small and, as your AC is forced to operate in a compromised condition, they worsen. The extra strain that they put on your air conditioning system and its other components can allow the problem to spread, and before you know it you have serious issues on your hands.

Do not let your air conditioning system fall into disrepair.

Call the Salt Lake City air conditioning professionals at Design Comfort today for professional routine air conditioning maintenance services. You can get the great performance you want from your air conditioning system while keeping costly service and repair needs at bay.

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How a Thermostat Impacts Your Air Conditioning System

Friday, August 9th, 2013

While small and compact, your thermostat is your primary user interface, the way by which you adjust the comfort levels of your home. As such, it is an incredibly important part of your HVAC system, and needs to be kept in great working condition at all times. There are numerous types of thermostats on the market today, from simple digital models to the latest in wifi-enabled “smart” designs. Most importantly, your thermostat needs to be professionally installed so that it integrates with your HVAC system in a way that allows you to make subtle adjustments and program the system to operate automatically. Call Design Comfort today for all of comprehensive air conditioning services in Salt Lake City.

Let’s take a look at 3 ways your thermostat impacts your AC:

  • Cooling performance. You need to make sure that your AC gives you the cooling performance you deserve at all times. But it simply cannot do so if your thermostat is not sensing the temperature adequately. When it comes down to the amount of cool air that your system delivers, much of that is dependent on the thermostat’s ability to read the temperature and communicate the discrepancy to the control board. Whether your thermostat is faulty or simply needs to be calibrated, make sure that it works well at all times.
  • Energy efficiency. Energy costs are high enough as it is. You need to make sure that your thermostat is helping your to reduce costs, not increase them. A programmable thermostat allows you to create a schedule of indoor climate adjustments so that you don’t have to cool your home when you’re not there.
  • System longevity. Like any other mechanical system, your AC is subject to a certain amount of wear and tear every cooling season as it attempts to keep up with the outdoor heat and humidity. With that in mind, the less your AC operates, the less wear and tear that it endures. A programmable thermostat allows you to schedule your AC to turn off at certain times of day and days of the week. While a “smart” thermostat can allow you to control the temperature or on/off switch remotely, which can come in handy if you leave the house to go on vacation with your central air on.

Call Design Comfort today for quality air conditioning and thermostat services in Salt Lake City.

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Tell-tale Signs that You Need Professional Air Conditioning Repair Services

Tuesday, July 30th, 2013

Of the various things that can go wrong with an AC, some are less subtle than others. Loud, grinding sounds, major water or refrigerant leaks, and failed compressors are all obvious problems when they occur because the result is often a total lack of system functionality. But others are far more subtle. Most of the problems with your HVAC system begin as very minor issues, which are more within the realm of maintenance than repair, but when neglected, they can develop into costly repairs and premature replacements. At Design Comfort, we have seen plenty of HVAC problems and have been offering solutions for years, and we’d like to share with you some telltale signs indicating that you need professional air conditioning repair services in Salt Lake City. Call us today to learn more about what we can do for you.

Catching problems early is important. Here are some things to look out for.

  • High electricity bills. We know that you have probably already keep a close watch on your energy bills, but pay close attention to your electricity bill during the cooling season to monitor any spikes in usage. If you haven’t changed your cooling habits from one  month to the next, then you shouldn’t see an increase in cost, all other things being equal.
  • Frozen coil. If you find that your indoor evaporator coil has frozen over and continues to accumulate ice, then it’s an indication that your system needs professional repair. When this occurs, it leads to all sorts of problems, from a lack of cooling to an overheated compressor. While defrosting is the logical step, it may not get to the root of the problem, which could be low refrigerant or blocked air flow.
  • Hot spots.When you walk throughout your home, is the cooling even and continuous? If not, then you have hot spots, which are often an indication that something is wrong with your AC. There could be an isolated problem to do with your ductwork in a certain part of the home, but it could also be a problem with the actual components of the AC.

Call Design Comfort today for professional air conditioning repair services in Salt Lake City. We’re here to help.

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How to Upgrade Your Air Conditioning Installation

Wednesday, July 24th, 2013

Getting a new air conditioning system installed in your home is a big decision and one that will affect you for a long time. If you’re like many homeowners then you want to make sure that you get the best possible installation for your new air conditioning system. Here at Design Comfort we are dedicated to the level of service that we provide and we wanted to put together a quick guide to how you can make sure that your new AC system gets installed right and works well for as long as possible.

Salt Lake City Air Conditioning Installation Services

One of the most common mistakes that homeowners make is to go out and just buy the biggest air conditioning system that they can afford. The thinking behind this is that the larger the unit then the more comfort they will experience. But what usually happens is that your home will be less comfortable, you may experience high humidity in your home and your AC system may experience more wear and tear. The first step of upgrading your air conditioning system is to make sure that you get the right-sized system for your home.

The next way that you can upgrade your air conditioning system is to make sure that it gets installed by a professional Salt Lake City air conditioning installation technician. One of the most common causes of AC repairs is bad installation. There are many different components that need to be connected and your professional HVAC company will be able to make those connections to ensure that your AC works well. Here are a couple benefits of getting professional installation.

  • Speed – One of the benefits to getting professional Salt Lake City air conditioning installation services is that it will get done much faster. No one wants to have to wait to have their AC system installed and having your system put in by a pro will make sure that it gets done as soon as possible.
  • Quality – Homeowners spend a lot of money purchasing and then running their air conditioning systems. That’s why getting professional installation is so critical. It will help ensure that your investment is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible.

For air conditioning installation services make sure that you call the Salt Lake City air conditioning professionals at Design Comfort today.

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