Types of Units

                                                              

Home Heat Pumps Gas Electric Straight A/C Adobe Air Coolers Furnaces Air Handlers

13 SEER Minimum

R22 Phase out.

Home Comfort

 

The different types of Cooling and Heating Equipment for your home can be found below. We have tried to put the explanation of each type of equipment into layman's terms.  

Over the years we have found many people expressing confusion about which  type of equipment is right for their home. 

S.E.E.R (seasonal energy efficiency rating) is a way to determine the electrical cost of a particular COOLING unit. Try to relate it to the cost of gas ( miles per gallon in a car). A car that gets 10 miles per gallon (10 S.E.E.R.) will cost more to go the same distance as a car that gets 12 miles per gallon (12 S.E.E.R.). The higher the S.E.E.R the more efficient the COOLING unit. Today we have units that can save you as much as 60% of your Air Conditioning electric bill. These new units can in most cases pay for themselves.

The refrigerant used in most Air Conditioning units today is R 22 (Freon). The United States Government has mandated that this Refrigerant be phased out as the old refrigerants were several years ago. The Air Conditioning industry has adopted a new environmentally safe refrigerant R401a (Puron) However not many manufacturers have completed the development of these units.

We have the right unit for you. There are many different ways to install home comfort cooling units.  These units can either (in most cases) be installed on the roof or ground mounted

A: Heat Pumps: (10-16 S.E.E.R) Will heat and cool your home and can be used on any home. This unit is basically a reversible air conditioner. In the summer it absorbs the heat inside your home and blows it outside. During the winter a heat pump will absorb the heat outside and blow it into your home. This is a total electric heating and cooling unit. This unit comes in many different configurations. It can be placed on your roof in one package. It can also be split up (Split System) with part on the ground out side and another section inside the home. Sometimes the blower section can be installed in a closet, garage or in an attic.

B: Gas Electric (Gas Pack): (10 - 17 S.E.E.R) Will cool and heat your home. This  unit has a  forced air furnace and an electric air conditioning unit. It will cool your home in summer with it's Air Conditioner. During the winter months it will heat your home with a gas forced air furnace. This unit comes in many different configurations. It can be placed on your roof in one package. It can also be split up (Split System) with part on the ground out side and another section inside the home. Sometimes the blower section can be installed in a closet, garage or in an attic.  The furnace  operates on natural gas or propane.

C: Straight Air Conditioning: (10 - 14 S.E.E.R) Will only cool your home in summer. It has no heating capabilities.  This unit comes in many different configurations. It can be placed on your roof in one package. It can also be split up (Split System) with part on the ground out side and another section inside the home. Sometimes the blower section can be installed in a closet, garage or in an attic. This type of unit will not do any heating.

D. Evaporative Cooler. (Swamp Cooler) These are water cooling units.  They work on the principle that evaporating water will cool the air. There are different types of Evaporative Coolers. The original coolers were stuffed with aspen shavings. As the water ran down over the aspen the blower sucked in outside air. This would cool the air as it came in contact with the evaporating water. Today modern technology has come a long way. The coolers still operate on the same principle of evaporating water and blowing air. However, there are choices. 

1. The Aspen (swamp) coolers are multi inlet and require the pads to be replaced often. The moisture level in the home higher then the single inlet. We find that usually our customers have satisfactory cooling in their homes until the Dew point reaches 45-48 Degrees. This type of unit will not do any heating.

The single inlet cooler, no longer uses the Aspen pads. They do it a lot more efficient and effective way today. The pad is very thick. In some models the pad is 12" thick. The pad is designed like a honeycomb. The air passes through moist hollow tubes to cool the air. This type of evaporation is more effective and delivers cooler drier air to the home.   The air contains a lot  less moisture.  There are second stages available to pre-cools the air before the air comes to the honeycomb pad. We have found that our customers have satisfactory cooling in their homes with the Dew point as high as 64-68 Degrees with the second stage and 56-58 degree dew point with the single pad. This type of unit will not do any heating.